Dulled White
by CandyAndYaoi
Summary: "But I bet you imagined me naked when I told you about it, right?" onyx eyes glanced to Naruto's eyes "If I had known you were so close by me at the beginning, we wouldn't be in the hospital because of you're stupid porn." Naruto rolled his eyes with a toothy grin "I wasn't the one that was looking through someone's laptop for the 'unforgivable porn' you know." "...Shut up."
1. Chapter 1: Go Away

A/N: An introductory for something in my head, I wanna see how this is going, just wanted to start something new. Hope you enjoy.

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><p>"You should take a break from stalking him, you know."<p>

Suigetsu nonchalantly suggested, leaning on the wall to his right, with a document tucked neatly under his armpit, holding a latte to sip. He made sure to make a vulgar slurp, keeping his eyes on the diligently working clickety-clack of keyboard buttons stopped, the silence speaking louder than words.

Sasuke closed his eyes tightly, ceased his nimble fingers from typing his reply to his anonymous friend. Why anonymous? Sasuke was...  
>In the nicest way possible, an antisocial, scumbag. Which is partly why he was annoyed with Suigetsu for interrupting him, but it does much deeper than that. Irritation did not build so quickly inside Sasuke if it was was just Suigetsu bothering him, it was more his company that abraded his patience.<p>

Sasuke just hated people. Simple as that.

To a certain extent, it wasn't Sasuke's fault that the passing by people he had encountered throughout his life were dishonest and vain. High school especially, was the worst time for this.

Gossip, peer pressure, backstabbing, lies, and reputations were the foundation of high school life, it didn't interest Sasuke very much; he just didn't want to have anything to do with them or their mental games.

It was too troublesome to care for that, which oddly made him sound like Shikamaru almost.

How his anonymous friend was involved was because of Sasuke's guidance councilor. Kakashi, who was both Sasuke's teacher and adoptive father, sent him down to guidance to fix his anti-social attitude. Unwillingly, he was forced to write to an anonymous pen pal. He fucking hated the idea.

He even made sure to say "Fuck." when he rejected the idea.

Don't get him wrong, it took over a month to convince Sasuke to attempt writing a letter to some random student that could have been some creepy old man. The school assured the program that offered pen pals was tight in security, but Sasuke didn't put much faith in anyone who wasn't him.

But Sasuke was not impossible to pressure. Kakashi made damn sure Sasuke would say yes by asking Itachi Uchiha to give a hand. To save the details, his older brother had played hundreds of mind games with Sasuke until finally, the brunette gave in.

The beginning letters from him were downright rude and short. Straight to the point.

His thoughts on writing letters were that they were cliche and a huge giveaway for low self-esteem. What surprised him, was that the reply was filled with angry swears, shattering his initial opinion of letters.

In fact, the letter itself was about 27 pages long, filled with creative cusses and insults, it even made the ice-prince smile.

The one responsible for making him smile was Naruto. Last names were kept secret, it was an unspoken rule.

Eventually, both began to warm up to each other, and before it was even foreseeable, they had grown close despite never meeting each other. Both had difficulty making friends, Sasuke willingly avoided friends, his friend...

Was ostracized in his school, which was the reason why Naruto wanted to write a letter to someone who would give him a chance.

The reasons why Sasuke hated being around others, they were all too self-interested, too shallow when it came to friends and each other. All far too untrustworthy. Naruto was Sasuke's best friend, even in the adult world, away from the social lives of school.

The letters were important to Sasuke, because overtime, Sasuke had grown to develop uncomfortable feelings. He went through a period of angst days, weeks, until finally he forced himself to come to terms with his odd fluttering feeling in his chest when he thought or read letters from Naruto. He ignored it. At least he tried, when he began to want to meet his faceless friend. Sasuke Uchiha wanted to meet someone.  
>He wanted to socialize. Itachi, followed his duty of being observant and patience, confronted Sasuke about it. Denial was the defense mechanism that switched on when Itachi asked: "Perhaps you've become close?"<p>

To any other person, the question seemed harmless. However, Sasuke was not just anyone, and neither was Itachi, so normal rules did not apply to either of them. Eventually, Sasuke sat down, pondered days on end of his feelings, soon to realize; He was fucking in love.

It wasn't some misinterpreted reading of emotions, Sasuke had begun to feel these emotions three years into writing the letters, an additional year to realize he was in love, fresh out of university.  
>But he refused to ever tell a word of this when asked if he was interested in someone.<p>

Suigetsu however was a colleague from university and had found out about the letters when they were dorm mates. Sasuke was beyond furious.

Seeing the soft secret of Sasuke's Suigetsu thought Sasuke was a little human, and followed Sasuke everywhere, his brother wasn't any help either. In fact, Itachi invited Suigetsu to be part of their company because he wanted Sasuke to at least have someone resembling a 'friend'.

Thus is the reason why Suigetsu gets away with teasing and annoying Sasuke, Suigetsu had the power to tell anyone about Sasuke's pen pal, and Sasuke liked the idea of a secret friend through letter, it made it seem like the letters were his and only his, that no one could invade their relationship.

Sasuke was known as a heartless working machine in the office, always in meetings, and working, but not to Suigetsu nor his brother. Because they knew of the letters, Sasuke wanted to keep a certain reputation, that he was hardened on the outside and inside.

Due to transfers and meetings around the country, they both switched to email to make it easier. They never thought of phone nor skype because they both didn't want to destroy the charm of their relationship, they didn't want to screw anything up by meeting each other now. It was a bit intimidating when they thought of the possibility.

To Sasuke's displeasure, Naruto apparently discovered plentiful of friends at university. That didn't mean Sasuke was alone , he had 'friends' which were people Sasuke simply found tolerable enough. Such as Gaara, Shikamaru, Neji, Juugo, and sometimes Suigetsu.

At the present moment, Sugetsu was fucking pissing him off.

Holding his breath to bundle his built up frustrations, he exhaled heavily, feeling elevated of the irritation he kept inside. Soot eyes looked up to Suigetsu with a heavy glare.

Suigetsu finished his late and aimed for the trashcan four feet away.

He missed, still tasting the milky coffee reside on the middle of his tongue, a bit too watery for his liking though.  
>"Suigetsu, did you need anything?" Asked Sasuke, harshly accusing him wordlessly with his biting tone. "You can't simply walk in and waste my time working."<p>

The annoying man smiled a toothy grin, his teeth naturally pointer than average.

"Well I came by cause Mr Sabaku called, something about...uh..." Suigetsu suddenly shifted his weight back on his feet, no longer leaning on the wall, looking through papers in the document he had, his eyes furrowed in concentration.

Sasuke was not pleased when time was wasted, especially when he was replying to Naruto.

"Suigetsu." His voice dropped, heavy, and angry, but still calm. Eyes narrowed angrily like a predator.

"Ah! Right!" Suigetsu jumped up slightly, an immature habit of celebration. Suigetsu faced Sasuke once more.

"Mr. Sabaku, otherwise known as Gaara, has faxed some valuable info. He had finally been able to strike a compromise with Minato Namikaze, we have his company supporting our latest project."

Settling himself nicely, he sat up to face Suigetsu, his eyes serious and chin tilted slightly up.

"And? Who will be arriving as a representative? I doubt Minato would have enough time to come down here since he's sending someone here. Gaara does realize I won't accept a representative that can't qualify for our project?"

"Of course, it's someone better!"

Sasuke raised his eyebrow, lifting a leg to rest on his left one, sitting back, doubting Suigetsu's words.

Sasuke grew impatient. "Who is it." he demanded.

Suigetsu grinned wider, as if he had a funny joke to tell.

"Well... His full name is Uzumaki, Na-"

"First names are unnecessary during business, if he's worth anything I will ask for his name, if not, I'll fire him immediately. The last name is only a necessity for manners." Sasuke calmly corrected.

Suigetsu rolled his eyes, knowing his boss would regret this.

"Fine, but he's coming tomorrow."

Little did Sasuke know the games and puzzles life had for him.


	2. Chapter 2: Warm Day

**Although time has passed, I still remember our warm touch, through a dream. _I h__ope you won't forget me._  
><strong>

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><p>You would think by now he would be traveling around the world with his father Minato, but that wasn't the case, he'd been busy, taking care of his mother, Kushina, for most of his time, still working at home for his father. Funny story is, is that he was once a dirty, gritty, and loud orphan, only to be found by his real parents again. By then he was already fourteen. It was an emotional year to say the least. He was pissed, sad, heartbroken, and distrustful to them. Only because he didn't understand why they left him when I was only an infant.<p>

Apparently, someone had swept him from the hospital away from his parents, they searched everywhere. Deep down in his lonely heart, he knew they loved him, so he couldn't stay angry; they were his parents and from what he had heard, they had looked for him for all those fourteen years.  
>Imagining the pain it must have been to miss his first birthday, to miss his beginning years of my life; year after year, they begin to lose hope, scared that Naruto was alone. So he forgave them, because it must have been lonely and agonizing for them as it was for him.<p>

As it was meant to be, they were a family, no longer missing the other parts.

When he entered his room for the first time he was baffled with what he saw. It was filled with presents from all his previous birthdays and Christmases. That was the first time he had ever cried so hard in front of anyone.

To make his parents proud, he studied hard while looking after his mom. So here he was, on a plane to travel for business in his father's place. Kushina's condition had fully recovered, and told her son not to pass this opportunity. He wasn't given much of a choice by his mother.

he was riled up with so much energy. Especially since his close friend Gaara is also part of the company he was arriving to. Konoha.

"You seem happy." Gaara stated, glancing to me, calm eyes and calm voice, sitting with a straight back as he leaned back on my chair. Naruto stretched his arms and yawned, drowsiness beginning to take over him after so much lack of sleep. But his personality wouldn't allow for him to act like a tired business man.

"Well duh! I'm going to a business appointment arranged in approval of my Dad! I can't wait to show him that I'll do the best job to help the company of his! I won't let him down, I promised." Naruto grinned.

"It's gonna be awesome." And Naruto believed that. Gaara exhaled softly to turn his head to his childhood friend. They both knew each other when they were kids, though they were enemies, Naruto had changed the perspective of everything Gaara believed in.

It was for the better. And Gaara wouldn't forget that. Momentarily for a certain period of time, they were separated and had lost contact until Naruto had reached the blooming age of 18.  
>Where he begged his father to start working in his company so he could be like his father, a powerful business man, but still able to be as kind as he was. His mother said that was why she loved him, because no matter how things changed, the kindness in Minato never once wavered or morphed into something ugly when he became rich.<p>

"Naruto."

"Hmmm? What's up?"

Gaara took out his document and flipped to the first page, not really reading the letters.

"Mr. Uchiha is not the most accommodating man. Remember that he is not like your father. Mr. Uchiha can be ruthless." Gaara warned, though he already knew with Naruto's behavior, he would probably mouth off at Sasuke. The Uchiha would deserve it, but Gaara was there to make sure Naruto remembered what was at stake. But then again, maybe Gaara didn't need to worry.

"Alright, gotcha then."

The signal button for seat belts above them turned off, signaling that Naruto could finally take out his laptop. Because the flight was only an hour, there was paid wifi, so he logged on to his email. A red circle with a white exclamation point. A grin plastered on his face, his finger sliding to click the email. It was from Sasuke.

Gaara noticed the sudden shift in smile. "Sasuke I presume?" He asked, Yes, he knew about Sasuke, and he knew who Sasuke was, but it wasn't his business to tell Naruto. Gaara sensed that it was the kind of thing that Naruto would decide if he wanted to know who Sasuke was, that he was Sasuke, Uchiha.

Naruto nodded, tapping his foot in attempt to express his happiness. "Yep, he's telling me that he's finally working at his home city. Though he's a little worried since his partner afraid might be inexperienced." Chuckled Naruto, his fingers tapping joyfully away at the flat keyboard.

_"If only you knew...I'm sure you'll find out soon enough." _Thought Gaara, as he took out a pen and circled important information regarding a business trade he was working on. He wanted to tell Naruto, to save him the disappointment, but this sort of thing was for Naruto to experience.

"I'm sure things will turn out alright for him."

But Gaara wasn't assuming it would end badly, on the contrary, he imagined in the end, those two would be close. But this sort of thing didn't involve Gaara. For now, his job was to observe.

A silent half-hour passed by, Gaara busily reading the details of his files, while Naruto continued to read the email, snickering at the words that he read. Like a child, Naruto turned to Gaara, wanting to share the amusing email. But he stopped himself.

Gaara was busily working.

Feeling slightly ashamed and embarrassed, Naruto decided to work on some files as well. He finished up emailing Sasuke before he emailed a few companies his father was partners with to address concerns with stocks and time management to get certain things done. Although he did not look it, Naruto was a good thinker when it comes to strategy, not as good as Shikamaru though. No one could beat Shikamaru when it came to strategy.

The smooth paper radiated dry silk. Sighing to himself through the nose, he began to read about the project that he was to help with Mr. Uchiha.

The project itself was quite impressive, it was to develop glass lenses to improve human eyesight. Surgery would no longer be needed. The project would most likely take a stretch of time to perfect such technology. Even longer to begin possible treatment for blindness. But all within possible reach.

Naruto reveled in such an 'impossible' challenge.

"We're here." Gaara told, closing the folder and placed it back in his suitcase to re-adjust his tie before turning to Naruto with his cool, teal eyes.

Naruto closed his laptop eagerly. "Sweet! I can't wait for lunch!" sloppily, and hastily, he threw everything back in his suitcase, the organization inside of it a messy pile of paper. He clipped it closed, the metal lock felt cool against his heated finger tips.

His feet cantered himself excitingly out the airplane, Gaara calmly following behind him. The sun shone bright, shining warmth back into Naruto after having to freeze from the air-conditioning during the flight.

Today was going to be great.


	3. Chapter 3: Marco Polo

**A/N: **Sorry for the long hiatus, not going into detail, it was a difficult journey at school, and I ended up travelling. Thanks for being patient for this next latest chapter, sorry if its a little short, I finished this just this morning so please enjoy, and leave a review if you have the time. Thank you for your amazing patience.

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><p>Sasuke stared with plain disinterest with the substitute representative of Minato Corps. He nearly winced at the incredibly bright and annoying person that flashed a loud smile.<p>

Unruly blond hair that reminded Sasuke of a toddler with how the locks seemed to poke in every direction.

His jaw clenched, fighting back the urge to pull out a brush to neaten the taunting hair.

The deep blue eyes also bothered him, they weren't unpleasant to stare at, which was the problem, they were too eye catching, work was supposed to be orderly and professional. Then came the final touch: the pearly white, unrestrained smile.

Already Sasuke wanted to smack the smile off this blond idiot presented to him, his fingers ached on the the pen he held, and eyes narrowed in intensity, displeased was an understatement to how Sasuke felt at the moment.

Naruto had entered through the doors in his suit with clear confidence but with the looks his partner had given him made him nearly drop his smile. "What?" He asked the pale man with a disappointed expression.

Sasuke cleared his throat his expression returning to mildly calm.

"Nothing, I was simply wasn't expecting..." His eyes glanced down to his shoes, was Mr, Uzumaki wearing orange socks?

"You." He bluntly finished, his coal eyes darted to Gaara for a confirmed gesture that the buffoon that grinned at him was truly the right person.

The daunting man with scarlet hair only nodded. This overwhelmingly excitable man before Sasuke was the stand in of Minato, the son of Minato Namikaze.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Naruto asked sharply, his lips were pursed tightly in slight anger.

Sasuke smirked at the observation, it seemed he was fairly easy to anger, he seemed to enjoy watching the blond become flustered by him.

"Garish clothing, untamed hair, and loud mouth. Really, must I point out the obvious?" Sneered Sasuke, mildly amused with the Uzumaki's heated anger towards his implied doubt in the abilities of the impulsive blond man.

Naruto's jaw nearly dropped from this shocking treatment. Yes, Naruto heard from Gaara that the elegant Uchiha was known for being direct and borderline cruel, but Naruto never grasped that the boss of such a successful company could be an asshole.

Don't get him wrong, Naruto wasn't expecting roses and a banquet to commemorate his arrival, but was a simple smile and a friendly attitude too much when it came to expectations? Apparently so.

Attempting to get back at his rude comment, Naruto chose to poke at a rumor that he apparently heard was true. "Well I've never seen a guy who's got a bigger brother complex than you!" Naruto yelled out, stupidly blurting out words without pondering over them, ignorant as to how sensitive the topic was of his insult.

Suigetsu, and Gaara widened their eyes–though Gaara just barely widened them since he was well adjusted to Naruto's impulsiveness– Suigetsu couldn't hold back and released unrestrained laughter, he keeled over and hit the wall repeatedly in a rude manner, wheezing for it to stop.

Suigetsu knew better than anyone that it was true even though it was never admitted from Sasuke, that he indeed have a brother complex when it came to his older brother Itachi Uchiha, who was busy in Germany to discuss certain business issues.

Gaara could only sigh, silently wishing it was Itachi they were dealing with, understanding things would have gone smoother if they waited to schedule a meeting with him; but Naruto and Minato both insisted that it was okay to meet the other brother. That everything would turn out fine when obviously it was not.

"Mr. Uzumaki." Sasuke spoke lowly, his tone warning Naruto to become silent before he'd threaten Naruto, his cold dark eyes were a frozen black.

Unfortunately Naruto was never the most observant person when it came to making good impressions, so the underlying warning was missed and Naruto continued, luckily he decided to change his attitude when he remembered his original goal to make his father proud which meant he needed this arrogant asshole to like him for things to begin working well.

As much as he would have loved to bicker with the ice queen he pushed down any impulsive desire to do so.

Inhaling a slow breath through this nose and out his mouth, the anger began slipping out along with the air he exhaled like smoke.

With muscles relaxed and confidence restored, he tried one more time to get along with the asshole in front of him.

He gave his best smile that he could naturally conjure, his bright eyes glowed softly from the light and suddenly Sasuke's anger diminished by the unknown feeling in his stomach, perhaps he finally realized that dealing with the golden idiot was like dealing with a five year old kid. Sasuke was unattached and cold, but even he had some morals, and one of them included going easy on children because they don't know better; which lead to his decision to treat the vulgar golden haired man as he would a child.

"But whatever! I want to introduce myself." Naruto began, standing straighter with an even brighter smile.

I don't really care_... _Sasuke thought, though he allowed Naruto to continue since it would have been bothersome if they broke out into another argument. Right now he was impatient, because he heard his phone ring with a chime when he decided to turn it on at that moment, which meant mail, which was probably Naruto, and he had to resist glancing at the screen for the sake of this blockhead.

Usually power and experience of Sasuke's usually performed an excellent job of shutting up people he disliked but when it came to this blond, it seemed ineffective, like how flies know a Venus fly trap is dangerous but still get trapped because they can't help their ignorance.

"My last name is Uzumaki cause my mom was pretty strong about her first kid having her last name since my first name was decided by my dad, in fact, my first name is Na-" before he could finish his last sentence, it seemed Suigetsu was hell bent in stretching the time when they revealed their first names to each other; he couldn't remember the last time he had so much fun at work.

"Brother complex! Pfft!" So he admitted it was a bad idea to piss off Sasuke at the moment but Suigetsu wouldn't get fired, maybe lose a few bucks on his salary and possibly have an enraged Uchiha yell at him but not fired, he was the only one that could ever get Sasuke the right coffee depending on his mood.

But this was worth it, he needed to find Kiba and make bets on who would find out first.

Gaara seemed to quickly pick up on Suigetsu's intentions and only shook his head in a calm manner. The moment Gaara noticed Suigetsu's amused expression when Naruto walked in, it was likely that he also had the knowledge of a certain pen pal Naruto and Sasuke both had.

However Gaara didn't like meddling into personal matters unless someone was getting hurt, if Naruto began feeling depressed he wouldn't hesitate to intervene. But for now Gaara decided it was best for things to flow and reveal itself when the time came.

"Suigetsu leave the room." Sasuke said, tone cold and clear, obviously hinting at punishment in the future.

"Gotcha boss man!" Suigetsu smiled, quickly leaving the room, already planned to leave the room despite Sasuke's poisonous words, much to Sasuke's dismay, Suigetsu also slammed the door.

Naruto was back to staring at Uchiha.

"Anyway...my name is Na-"

"That won't be necessary. This project will be strictly business between you and me, first names are too personal. Now since you wasted a good minute with your useless banter, I believed it'd be better to get straight to the point of our plans and see what we may compromise with one another. Simple enough for you?"

Silently Naruto nodded, not calmly though, he was irritated that he never got to introduce himself due to interruptions.

Thankfully lunchtime was near so both Naruto and Sasuke cooled themselves off by distracting themselves. Although the afternoon was filled with people ingesting nutrition, Naruto decided to work productively, if not furiously during his meal time, hoping to get a few steps ahead of the Uchiha.

Half chewing a granola bar, he scribbled with intensity on some papers to set aside what he should first discuss with Mr. Uchiha.

Naruto would have preferred to ask the name of the ass he was paired with, but he was told off that it wasn't important, if his partner was going to only address Naruto by his last name, he might as well address him by Mr. Uchiha; Naruto certainly didn't like addressing people by last names, he himself was just barely sliding into 21, not nearly old enough to be addressed as 'Mr. Uzumaki.'

Which was why he had a difficult time empathizing to the appeal of being addressed by your own last name.

Yes, the Uchiha was a cold hearted prick when they first met; But nevertheless there had got to be a good person beneath that hardened outer layer of the dark haired man.

Naruto preferred thinking of other people in a positive perspective because it made things easier for Naruto to understand people, maybe the cold Uchiha was used to being alone from the start just like Naruto.

The Uchiha was just socially awkward, since most people in the building praised their boss for his fair judgments and intelligent decisions.

To further justify this case, he went and asked his friends that have worked with the Uchiha before as to what he was like.

Gaara seemed to be neutral when it came to him commenting that he was a good worker, Neji said good things about his ability to get things done, and Shikamaru told that he was the less troublesome when it came to planning but wasn't a very warm person.

It seemed the Uchiha was a capable businessman, but seemed to lack any social skills which resulted in minimum of friends.

Personally, Naruto knew no one liked being alone, he experienced loneliness in the beginning years of his life; no one understood why Naruto acted so mischievously as a child because no one cared enough to try.

The soft pleasant taste of chocolate and sweet oat drained from his tastebuds, his chewing ceased, and his writing ended.

Naruto dropped to stare at his hands on his lap, pondering over his past self and the current Uchiha he had to deal with.

_Are we really all that different?_ Naruto felt his mood become a shade more melancholic with the new thought, his determination solidifying with a conclusion. The Asshole Naruto met earlier is not what he appeared to be. Suigetsu, his assistant was laughing like an idiot at their first meeting, and the Uchiha could have fired him for being outright rude and obnoxious, but he didn't.

Gaara was content with sipping his coffee till he picked up on Naruto's dimmed mood.

His emerald eyes glanced to the side, observing the Naruto's half lidded eyes staring intensely at his own lap, his thoughts obviously wandering somewhere not related to work.

Out of concern he asked "What are you thinking about?"

Naruto's daze snapped back to it's bright shiny optimism, but not as strong as it usually was.

Clear eyes that gave away the truth was paired with an open face that was honest to a fault looked at Gaara.

"How to make friends with assholes." He blurted out of instinct.

Gaara could already feel the chaos that will no doubt ensue the next couple of days.

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><p>After the riotous tanned man finally exited the room for lunch, Sasuke eagerly slipped out his phone to swipe to his mail.<p>

The red sign that hovered on top of the mail icon pleased him. He tapped over it and selected the mail that had the subject of "Off to see the wizard."

_An idiotic subject name... How typical of Naruto. _Sasuke amusingly thought, though he gave a half smile, already predicting that Naruto had something to share that would no doubt be entertaining.

Eagerly he read over the sentences from his close friend on the screen of his Iphone.

_"Glad to hear your assistant is pissing you off, he's doing the job for me when I'm not there. I'm kidding." _Sasuke gave a smirk, of course Naruto was pleased to hear someone was bothering him. his finger swiped to go down to read further.

_"But maybe you should try talking to him why he seems to tease you, though it's probably because he's known you since university, he just wants to maintain the air of being friends, it's harmless. I do it all the time, at least he didn't draw on your face when you were sleeping with permanent marker like my friend did on graduation. __At the moment I'm on the plane to start my first business project with an important company, I admit I'm nervous as hell, like the time I had to shave all my body hair for my swim team... You probably didn't need to know that, my bad."_

On the contrary, Sasuke found the image of Naruto hairless appealing, especially since he had limited details to Naruto's physical features; he knew Naruto had blond hair, tanned skin, blue eyes, and a good physique from how much Naruto played sports, which gave him the opportunity to creatively imagine the curves of muscle that etched into his skin, the taut feel of a chest.

Sasuke's half smile nearly dropped when he thought of Mr. Uzumaki.

Blond hair, blue eyes, tanned skin, and good luzia us with how taut his asscheeks were.

Sasuke nearly made the connection and possibility that Uzumaki might be Naruto until he remembered the statistics. Lots of people were blond, had blue eyes, and a good physique, especially in North America.

Besides, the way the champagne haired man spoke was obnoxious and rude, Naruto on the other hand was extremely optimistic, and uplifting for Sasuke.

_"Despite this anxiety, I'm going to do my best, since my mom would probably kill me if I didn't, and I'll make my dad proud. I want them to realize they were great parents even though I thought they left me in the beginning years of my life. It's been a good while since then that I've nearly forgotten about it, but I know for a fact my parents still feel guilty for the past when they really shouldn't."_

The half smile that creeped up on Sasuke dropped once again. Naruto was an orphan? This was news. Which shocked Sasuke, because he believed he knew everything about his personal idiot until today, which annoyed him to a possessive level, there were still things he didn't know, there were blanks left to be filled about Naruto whom he had yet to meet.

Sasuke was already thinking about meeting Naruto in person since it's been a good couple of years since they began their letters, but he felt his intestines twist with anxiety.

_What...? Am I self conscious...? _He caught himself feeling. Sasuke wasn't modest, he was elegant, mysterious, and dazzlingly handsome with an air of calmness. He was well aware how attractive he was, how everyone around him was charmed to him for his physical features and chilled attitude, so it was irrational to feel self conscious to the idea of meeting his long-term friend. Sasuke would one day ask Naruto to date him and Naruto would say yes.

Or would he? If they met, would Naruto find the way he treated others a disgusting feature? Would he realize how much of a frigid, heartless man he really was? So many doubts of himself. If Naruto rejected Sasuke because of his extremely flawed personality, their friendship would be gone.

Already knowing what he wanted to ask in the reply, Sasuke skimmed over the rest of the mail which was about squash and the Easter bunny, giving a light chuckle

Nimble fingers dutifully typed out a good long paragraph, before he pressed 'send'.

His forefinger pressed the button on the top right of his phone to power off his phone.

Lunch was halfway done and he still needed to eat.

As if on cue, Suigetsu strolled in with a document.

Immediately Sasuke noticed the yellow document.

"What do you have for me this time?"

Sharp teeth revealed itself in a somewhat crooked smile.

"Nothing. Just thought you wanted to look over the file of Minato's kid. I highlighted the important stuff for you."

Sasuke glared at Suigetsu.

"You know I don't have time for such useless review. I don't need to read about him to understand what an imbecile he is. Throw it away and get me some lunch."

Suigetsu's smile immediately fell, which quickly recovered to a sneaky smile.

"Fine, but I'm not helping you if you end up wanting to look over his file later then."

Suigetsu reached for the door handle before hearing "I doubt it." Muttered behind him.

When he exited Sasuke's office, Suigetsu stared at the first page of the file, pondering what to do next.

It was Naruto's picture with his birth date, blood type, and his name to which Suigetsu highlighted in bright yellow for Sasuke to notice.

He settled to toss the file into the trash just like Sasuke requested, he wouldn't

attempt to reveal Uzumaki's name anymore. If Sasuke wanted to be stubborn, so be it.

Carelessly he exited the room, muttering a sentence with amusement.

"Idiot, you were so close."


	4. Chapter 4: Smile

A/N: Firstly, Thanks so much for the reviews and follows, favorites, etc, it surprised me that you all enjoy this series, but in any case, thank you for reading this fanfiction!

Please note that I don't know too much about how business works, so if I mess on things please do point it out and I'll try to fix the mistakes. So for the future mistakes I ask for your forgiveness. Furthermore, I've been struggling a little in school so i've been occupied, but I'm trying to update this story and trying to finishing the final chapter of IEH (which will be really long...). Plus I've been in desperate need of a beta (Though so far, a lot are too busy or just gone)

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><p>So please forgive my mistakes in this story!<p>

Tricky was such a blessed word when involved in peculiar situations. It can be applied to puzzles or difficult situations that can be considered tedious.

Luckily, Sasuke had never been in a situation that was considered 'tricky' or even 'inconvenience' due to his strict habit of alienating any person that couldn't hand in their work a day before the actual due date. However this prevented him from being able to deal with hardheaded idiots. It seems today was the day Sasuke had met his match.

Not the romantic kind unfortunately.

"As I've said before, to treat cataracts, is a complete different aspect that's far more troublesome to add." The smooth voice sneered, his fingers tapping impatiently on his desk as Naruto sat on the floor in front of him, crisscrossed legs with his arms folded in front of his chest.

Blazing blue orbs persisted stubbornly.

"It's not that different, it's still an eye condition like when a person needs glasses. Only it can't be treated on the elderly, we can help so much people this way!"

"Absolutely not. Our main goal is to create a project that repairs the lens in the eye so that glasses won't be required anymore, cataracts is when the lens becomes cloudy, they are two different eye conditions." Sasuke reminded snidely, taking pleasure that his knowledge was at a higher level than his partner's.

Naruto however protested the asshole's reasoning "But both conditions require glasses! Listen for once you dick sucking bastard!" He finally snapped, enjoying the idea of helping a wider range of people, but was bitterly despising the cold hearted ice prince front of him.

Due to his rather crude choice of words it seemed the chatter of the room had abruptly stopped. Eyes staring down on Sasuke and Naruto. There was a faint sound of a coffee cup dropping, no doubt the janitor could hear it as well.

Silence.

Until Suigetsu coughed a little to break the silence.

Sasuke looked at the inferior partner of his and approached him with two long strides he was face to face with the subjacent nitwit that was pretty much useless.

Naruto didn't flinch at the tight jackass when he appraised him, instead, his chest puffed out, willing a challenge against the arrogant jackass.

Giving an unimpressed stare, Sasuke merely glanced at the clock of his phone. He should have seen an email notification, yet there was none that was important; none that included the word 'Naruto'.

"Then we'll start it as a separate pro-" he began suggesting, wanting to calm the headache he was developing.

"No fucking way." Naruto snapped with gritted teeth.

"There is no fucking way I'm going to to do that."

Naruto knew how business worked. You needed to be a clean cut person, with a personality that could charm people into giving you their money to buy a product that should help them. Key word was 'should.'

Reality was, products are purposely made to break so others would by more. Good business meant recieving large amounts of money with the minimum of income loss.

Basically you need to convince people to hand their money to you. The problem at the moment was that Naruto was the type of person that was far too sincere to ever act in such a manipulative way when it came to anything and anyone. Sasuke on the other hand was the perfect definition of a businessman.

He had power.

Attractiveness, intelligence, social status, and was intimidating when need be.

Not a single person who knew who Sasuke was had ever tried to cross him, until now.

From the looks of it, none of his skills would be of use to him now.

"Well what do you propose then?" Sasuke irritatingly asked, waiting for the blond hothead to realize what idiotic nonsense he was spouting.

Naruto grinned and placed his hands on his waist. "About time you started asking the right questions."

Stepping forward a he straightened his jacket Naruto eagerly began his speech.

"You're aiming for young adults, but what about the elderly that suffer from cataracts? We need to remember that our project is meant to be helpful to the community. Naturally it's important to appeal to other age groups so that time demand for them are high and then from the stock rates we'll be able to deduct how many we should produce a year if we continue working productively."

Naruto glanced at Gaara who nodded in approval for him to continue.

_So far so good then... _Naruto thought, if Gaara approved of his words, then Naruto knew he was within reasonable range to be considered.

"Small companies start small but think big. Since both of our companies are fairly large, we can expand on this project by adding some sort of vision aid to help clear the lenses of the eye."

Naruto thanked whatever force there was in the sky that he remembered grade 10 biology when they talked about how eyes and cells worked.

For a moment, Sasuke might have considered the blond man's suggestion, but he was never the type to simply agree. Yes, if he agreed quickly they'd save time but if he waited, he would create the line of dominance; that he was the one leading this project because his influence was the key to their success.

Patience was a key weapon Sasuke used to manipulate people with his charm and intelligence.

"I'll think about it... I'll get back to you once I make a decision." He explained, despite the fact that he was lying and had absolutely no intentions of giving in to Naruto's idea.

Watching the high class man leave the premise frustrated Naruto to no end. Entangling his fingers in his hair he groaned "Why is he such a bastard?! Acting so goddamn high and mighty!"

Storming off to the bathroom to cool his head, Gaara followed in silence, prepared to calm him down to explain that Sasuke's attitude was just part of his job.

"If he acts all cool and calculating sure I can accept that. But that fucker has no consideration of others! I know this is business but I stepped into the business world to make it easier for everyone to live a happy life."

Splashing the cold water in his face sent icy shivers down his neck, the coldness shocking some of the angry heat he felt build up in his face was refreshing and calming.

"He's very good at strategy when it comes to gaining money. It's not necessarily a bad thing. Especially with this type of work. You can't be successful quickly without getting your hands dirty." Gaara pointed out with mild amusement of Naruto's strong sense of right, his hand sliding to his pocket to take out a cigarette pack. Popping a thin stick in his mouth he got out his lighter to relieve the itching addiction for one.

"Yeah well I actually want to help the elderly instead of robbing them blind." Naruto snapped.

Glaring at his own blue eyes in the mirror, Naruto's grip on the sides of the sink tightened, the scent of burning smoke simply encouraged the anger to grow.

"I can't stand that asshole."

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><p>Returning after a day's work, Naruto hastily threaded down the halls to the elevator. Punching the up button a couple of times, Naruto silently begged for the elevator to arrive since he really needed to to check his email and get his daily relieving message. He really needed to get a better laptop and phone with better battery. Apple's battery literally suck.<p>

As he waited his mind kept flashing back to what he had done after exiting the bathroom earlier that day.

In all honesty he should have taken heed of Gaara's advice since he was a professional in business inquires; being the thick headed man that he was, Naruto had to lose his shit once the cold hearted asshole returned early to tell Naruto no to appealing to the elderly in this one project. Pressing his hand on his temple to run at it, it wasn't the best idea to dump his poutine over his hair since it ruined Naruto's chance of savoring the salty deliciousness of Canadian Poutine. It was so difficult to get the real legit Canadian fries, cheese and gravy in the United States.

Naruto made the initiative to go to a grocery store to make some food for himself. The hotel he stayed in was one of the higher class ones that came with a kitchen, just no food.

The kitchen even came with a rice cooker.

Finally the small chime of the elevator made Naruto dive past the opening doors. Unfortunately he nearly knocked over a pregnant lady which he profusely apologized for.

Luckily for him he escaped her wrath with a small slap on the face.

Progressing down the hallway of doors, Naruto reached his designated hotel room which had black numbering of **384**.

Getting out his keys he opens we the door and locked it. Throwing the keys on the counter and placed the plastic bags of groceries beside the keys as he began to strip off his tight business clothes.

He fucking despised wearing a tight necktie and a buttoned up shirt, it felt so suffocating wearing uptight clothing since he wasn't an uptight person.

Personally he would have preferred wearing loose jeans and a orange shirt on. Throwing off his blue tie, Naruto threw off his shirt which was the final piece of clothing excluding his briefs; skin feeling free and relieved of any restraining clothes.

Without realizing it until he was nestled into the comfort of his home, his stomach ached and growled to be fed.

Charging his laptop on the counter, Naruto began to make himself some spicy curry with a little bit of shrimp, if he was still hungry, he could snack on ramen. Normally he would have preferred ramen and poutine but he was hungry and anything sounded appealing to him besides 'salad' and 'tomato.' Setting up the food, spices and chicken, Naruto began to chop up some onions, pretty soon he was in a bawling mess since he enjoyed the taste of fried onions he had to pay for making it himself since the onions emanated painful gases that hurt his eyes. He even stuck his tongue out to see if it could ease the pain. It didn't, which meant his friend Kiba fucking lied to him and he now looked like some kind of moron that was crying and sticking his tongue out.

Pausing for a moment to wipe his eyes which were covered in onion juice, Naruto nearly screamed at the intense burn of the liquid fire attacking his tear ducts.

"Fuck!" Harshly snapping, his eyes blinking rapidly as tears spilled faster as a means to rid of the horribly painful onion.

At that moment his laptop turned on as a sign that it was powered back enough to be useable.

Staring at the screen, Naruto finally had his mind back on a normal track and quickly cantered to wash his eyes with cool water before attending to his laptop.

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><p>With a dry towel, Naruto wiped any water that slipped down to his neck or chest, sighing at the slight burn that still persisted in his eyes. Due to the ongoing pain he experienced from the onion, Naruto just gave up on curry shrimp and settled with ramen.<p>

Waiting for his noodles to settle a little, Naruto began logging into his email since for some reason his stupid laptop logged him out no matter what he did, but as long as his laptop could still turn on and connect to the WiFi, he wouldn't complain.

Eagerly scrolling through his email, Naruto clicked the new email with the subject "Moron."

Trust Sasuke to be a charmer when it came to emails.

_"...Nice to hear you've shaved all your hair off before, would that include your genitals?" _

Naruto swore he could imagine Sasuke grinning like an idiot, despite that he couldn't visualize specific details of Sasuke's face. All the young blond knew was that Sasuke was apparently attractive, hot. Like **REALLY **smoking hot.

But that's all the egotistical friend would tell Naruto; leaving the the champagne haired man the luxury of imagining what Sasuke looked like, it varied from time to time, but Naruto was a hundred percent on one thing about Sasuke, he must have smirked a lot with his arrogant way of conjuring words.

Sasuke was... In the mildest ways, kind of distant...but not in a antisocial way, more like...

_Awkwardly silent when it came to others... Lonely. _Naruto mused with mild empathy, feeling the surge of old wounds beginning to ache at the thought of his own best friend isolated.

It was ironic though, they were the closest friends a person could ever know, but at the same time, there was still so much that made them strangers to one another.

Air would become heavy to breathe in when the idea of Sasuke experiencing pain, almost enough to make him follow out his killing urge to find Sasuke, to admit his affectionate feelings to his best friend, that Naruto loved Sasuke romantically.

The blonde was willing to tell anyone that cares that he was bisexual, maybe a little more to the males than females but he liked both genders, but he didn't want to get into all those labels for different sexualities since it confused him. If you love someone than you love them, he didn't like how people make it so complicated by giving everything a name or label. As long as so one loved someone else sincerely that's all that mattered, as long as a person wasn't a pedophile or into bestiality.

That'd be just gross.

Snickering a little at Sasuke's curiosity, Naruto began typing back _"Yes, and for a few days it was pleasantly cool down there until the hair started growing back as a patch. Which was kinda gross so I never did it again." _

Then his eyes read the next part of Sasuke's reply, only to frown a little.

_"...You never told me about that. You were abandoned?"_

Such simple words meant so much. Sasuke was usually an impersonal type of guy, but Naruto wasn't, so the reaction in the form of a question said a lot.

Sasuke cared, and Naruto had seemed to have forgot to mention that he started off life with no parents; which his other friends knew about.

Feeling a bubble of shame rise he began to type out and explanation, rubbing his eye with the towel for a moment as the burn returned

_"Just for a bit... Until I was a preteen I think? I don't know my labels, it was kinda hard when I started out, since no one cared to find out who I was, I was seen as a bad omen or something since I was kidnapped by some serial killer that was gunned down when I was like a month old."_

For a brief moment his fingers twitched and paused, his reply was fairly straightforward but Sasuke really liked detail when it came to relevant events in Naruto's life.

_"I was often alone, playing on the swing set in the shade, never had anyone approach me or even look at me. It was tough and all, but now im stronger and more determined to make sure no one suffers like me again! I like seeing people smile."_

Fingers typed eagerly away as he found himself smiling despite the tear that slipped out from his eye, from the onion of course.

_"I'm thankful that I experienced loneliness, because I don't ever want someone to feel alone because they're different. People are living life and going through difficulties, which is why I was so hyped to join my dad's line of work. To help people, to see them smile without worry." _

Warmth spread in his chest which could only be described as happiness, sending pleasant sensations through his blood, which absentmindedly brought to mind a time Sasuke had written to Naruto that the blond man was the only one out of his entire life who could make Sasuke forget about his work and misery, that in a way, Naruto was his only escape from the suffocating chains of his family.

These little things that Sasuke said were flattering and complimenting since Sasuke had a difficult time getting along with anyone in general who wasn't family; which he had developed a crush over his anonymous pen pal which would prove to be 'troublesome' as Shikamaru would put it.

Reading further he nearly burst into laughter if he didn't find himself freezing as his brain connected an odd coincidence.

Apparently Sasuke had a partner coming in to work on a large project, on the same day Naruto had arrived.

For a moment panic settled like thick paint before he laughed to himself _Uchiha...? Sasuke? Psh! Fuck no... That's impossible._

The mere idea of Sasuke being the stuck up Uchiha was impossible, Sasuke wasn't some shallow asshole that wouldn't blink to the idea of robbing the poor and elderly.

Sasuke was this smart guy(borderline smart ass), that was a little lonely since he could never find a person who liked him for him.

Typing the rest of the reply with his fingers, Naruto tapped the 'enter' button and watched his email deliver the message.

Getting to his feet with ease, Naruto settled to shower and hopeful rid himself of the onion of pain juice out of his eye.

_Note to self: wear safety goggles for onions... _He absentmindedly thought as he allowed the warm, clean water to spray on to his face, cleaning out any chemicals from his eyes, enjoying the glorious relief of the pain deserting his eyes.

Naruto was never mediocre, so it was plausible why he didn't think it was weird to think of the Uchiha guy while he was in the shower.

Call it a passing thought, but maybe the Uchiha was lonely.

_He's always alone... Like he hates people..._

Naruto pressed on the shower head to stop the shower head from spraying water. His eyes were dark with concentration, the proud Uchiha was known to being cold and distant from what his friends that were in the same kind of work area explained to him, Naruto did do his research–despite the fact he tended to forget to memorize the first names of new acquaintances.

Apparently even in high school the Uchiha and his brother had problems with getting along, that the Uchiha brothers both seemed to prefer to isolated from others, living on without companionship, not a single moment of having a good time with friends.

However, it seemed eldest brother, understood that relationships with strangers were important, and began to warm up to the ambitious students which all became powerful professionals in the world of business; He had an easy start when he began directing their family business with his contacts he made contracts with.

The younger Uchiha never really grew out of the loner phase and was still very much distant to the idea of companionship.

Naruto soon recalled that his penal, Sasuke was in a similar situation. It wasn't that he disliked people in general, he didn't enjoy being around them because he found people often have to suck up to others to have friends.

The fact was, Sasuke was intelligent, refined, and attractive, but that's all anyone considered when he was approached; not a single person has ever tried to understand his personality instead of his looks; Hence, the reason why he disfavored human company.

Apparently his high school saw this as a problem which inevitably introduced Sasuke to Naruto.

Sasuke had come a long way since then, apparently he had this friend who was similar to Naruto's personality, but more disruptive much his his dismay. To Sasuke, Naruto was his only real friend that liked him for who he was.

Which was why maybe the Uchiha bastard was in the same position as Sasuke. Hating how everyone around him deemed his prominent qualities to be just looks and intelligence, that he was worth nothing else without those characteristics.

The mere idea of having friends disgusted the Uchiha.

Feeling a bit more empathetic for the younger Uchiha since Naruto understood too well what it was like to feel worthless, that you were nothing.

Squeezing out Irish Spring soap on his palm, he rubbed both hands to lather it into a silky foam before he began applying it on his back, and chest, extending to his arms eventually.

_I guess the Uchiha guys has a lot of pressure too... Dad did say the Uchiha brother's father was incredibly strict... _Naruto breathed in the fresh, humid air of the shower as he recalled his father's advice regarding the Uchiha family.

Itachi Uchiha was extremely successful in everything which had set a difficult standard for his younger brother.

Maybe the younger sibling felt like he was Itachi's shadow.

"Poor guy..." Naruto muttered as he closed his eyes as he switched to applying shampoo in his hair. Pity wasn't the emotion he felt towards his partner in business, instead he saw the situation as unfair.

Naruto reflected back to himself, Naruto concluded that the young Uchiha prodigy probably needed a friend, someone to help him open up and become more approachable.

To fix the trust issue of him, maybe then the uptight jackass would get laid and finally look relaxed for once.

Turning back on the water, the fierce blond finally came to the decision that from this point on, becoming friends with the ice prince was his goal for this business project.

The Uchiha needed to start somewhere when it comes to being sociable, Naruto was always a people person, taking enjoyment out of other people's happiness.

For an odd reason, Naruto just really wanted to see the Uchiha give an earnest smile.

_A smile of that jackass... Maybe he'd look okay with one._

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><p>Out of business concern, Itachi stepped out of the airport building, ignoring the loud noise on landing planes, Itachi settled right into the limousine that was sent for his return back; after he received a text from Suigetsu that a certain friend of Sasuke's was in town, it was rather obvious he needed to return to meet the anticipated mystery friend.<p>

Itachi Uchiha, was a well informed man of every person he considered noteworthy; including outsiders that associated themselves with his younger brother whom he cared for.

Luckily for Itachi, Sasuke didn't socialize much which made it easier to keep track of who was involved with his little brother.

Naturally he knew about Naruto by purposely looking through Sasuke's laptop one night, coincidentally noticing that Sasuke was in the middle of replying to an email to what seemed to be a close friend with how... Happy Sasuke's words seemed.

Itachi from that point took whatever means to find out who this 'Naruto' was, to make sure the guy who was Sasuke's friend was a good influence.

To his delight Naruto exceeded his expectations. Naruto was Minato Namikaze's son. The heir of Konoha Corps.

Obviously he approved of the blond man, seeing how Naruto was so expressive with his thoughts and emotions, contrasting with Sasuke's frigid attitude that kept others at bay.

Naruto seemed like a healthy kind of influence, one that would be able to piss Sasuke off. The gloomy brother needed someone different in his life to keep things meaningful.

Engine hummed in approval, reminding Itachi of a lion purring in approval. As the car began its smooth descent back to his home, Itachi realized that it was likely Sasuke didn't know Mr. Uzumaki's first name with how impatient his fool of a brother.

_Tsk. I won't allow such a minor mistake from preventing the inevitable. _Itachi mused to himself, mildly entertained with the irony of the situation. Nonetheless, Itachi began conjuring of ways for them to discover the truth.

The smooth glide of the luxurious automobile slowed from traffic, Itachi's lips quirked a mild smile at the sight of children comically play when he witnessed two boys roughhousing each other with mud.

Itachi secretly hoped that if Sasuke and Naruto got close together, than perhaps, something–whether it be a romantic, or a platonic relationship–Sasuke's personality wouldn't be as closed off, and maybe Sasuke would begin to find color in his life again after he had shut himself away in the darkest caverns of his heart.

Facts made life so much harder which was why it was all the more tedious to somehow find a way for Sasuke to offer a smile directed to him.

Due to tradition of their family, it made sense that Sasuke hated Itachi; but that didn't mean Sasuke needed to deprive himself of any joy.

The smile of Itachi's wavered when he recalled the time how he and Sasuke roughhoused in the snow.

Like the snow, both of them were carefree and ignorant as children. Itachi had grown accustomed to his current life now, no longer adventurous, nor happy; just a simple loop of monotony.

Despite this, he would be satisfied with Sasuke being happy; To see Sasuke achieve true happiness was an old wish Itachi used to make; after a numerous amount of years, his wish seemed impossible, but now... It was in reach.

Sasuke would smile again after this week, Itachi would see to that since he was going to be present to the current dilemma of two idiots who unconsciously avoid one another's name like the plague.

Itachi was more than ready for this.

He waited for this.

Without a doubt, Naruto would be changing Sasuke, and Itachi had high hopes the Uchiha family would accept this change.


	5. Chapter 5: Bittersweet Relief

A/N: I updated!

And not late this time(actually it's on time)! Thanks for the follows (chap 4 was uploaded in the middle of the week and I did not expect all those email notifications, you guys amaze me, I reread my chapter and I am groaning at the mistakes, I wish i had time to edit but I don't and its impossible to find a good beta...

I apologize for wasting this part of the chapter, and thank you for choosing this fanfiction to read wherever you are, and whoever you are.

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><p>Sharp pain slid right into his patch of skin. The feeling of a foreign fluid invade into his bloodstream created a bone-chilling tremble in Sasuke.<p>

Fuck was he shaking?

Breath hitched as he foolishly glanced anxiously at the needle in his arm, his body tensed and everything was a little dizzy.

"Scared?" A smooth tone inquired.

Sasuke merely remained silent, never uttering a word, but not quite submitting to this horrible and irrelevant procedure to get his flu shot. Glaring harshly at the smirking figure before Sasuke, he nearly bit at the nurse when she pressed a small cotton was against the tiny puncture in his skin.

"No, I just found it a waste of time."

The nurse that was attending Sasuke gave him a narrowed look, which Sasuke gladly returned with an angry bite; he wasn't a people person.

Sasuke finally said, his nerves relaxing after the needle finally left his skin, dizziness beginning to hit Sasuke like a tsuname, an after effect of the vaccine.

"It was pointless Itachi, I've never caught the flu since I discontinued getting them."

Itachi then took his seat as Sasuke got up, rolling up his sleeve to allow the nurse to repeat the procedure of flu shots. The nurse appreciated how compliant Itachi was compared to Sasuke's biting words.

"Flu shots are very important, it keeps you healthy." Itachi calmly explained, amused over his little brother's obvious rejection to needles.

"Bull." Sasuke replied as he hastily exited the clinic, not caring if Itachi caught up with him or not. The footsteps behind him however, were definitely Itachi's.

On a normal basis, Sasuke obediently followed Itachi's requests, but today Sasuke was irritable with himself, the biggest obstacle was that it was irrational frustration.

Naruto apparently neglected valuable information regarding his past.

The smooth stride of his strokes wavered when a realization hit him.

After all this time, Sasuke often poured his emotions and opinions to Naruto, but Naruto never seemed to open up that much of his past; it was obvious from the recent email he had received that his blonde friend had a hardened past of what was likely painful.

The fact that Naruto never once mentioned his hardships bothered Sasuke to no end.

_Is there someone else he trusts...? More than me?_

Mere thoughts of Naruto in a closer relationship was painstakingly infuriating. Kissing someone else, caressing someone else, loving someone else. Jealously was an unusual part of him that almost **never** showed itself. So when it did, such as right now, it was heinous, ugly, unwanted, and possessively aggressive like some feral beast. Sasuke was caught off by this reveal of emotion, and even he felt fear over this revelation.

It was pathetic, how Sasuke experienced jealousy towards someone he had never seen someone before. It was like fate enjoyed torturing Sasuke. Love was so confusing.

His entire life, he was attractive, gorgeous, and charming to anyone that had the pleasure to meet him. Sasuke could have had anyone he desired, but he had to fall for the one person who'd never be influenced by his wealth or body; it was refreshing and reliving to meet such a person, but he ended up falling gracefully into love, but it was a rather difficult situation for him. Sasuke was a deer in headlights at this point when it came to Naruto.

This meant a real friendship which Sasuke was grateful for, but at the same it was a heavy burden to carry because it could never be anything more that a friendship ever since they agreed last names would remain discreet. If Naruto didn't want to meet Sasuke on real person, Sasuke would have to respect that, but he was so willing to throw away their friendship out of a chance that this love was real, that maybe Naruto returned his feelings.

"By the way, Sasuke, I've heard from Suigetsu that you've been having issues with your partner regarding which age group the project should appeal to." Casually Itachi mentioned with a tone of what seemed to be an arrogant whisper, almost like he knew something important that Sasuke hadn't comprehended yet.

Almost bitingly he replied "So what?" His arm gripped on the handle of the exit door and pulled it open, disliking the cold feel of the smoothed steel.

Big mistake, he instinctively used the tendons of the arm that had been injected. Wincing at the sharp pain of his sensitive arm, Sasuke was about to switch arms until his brother took over to open the door for him. Itachi's head tilted to the side to gesture Sasuke to walk through, hurting Sasuke's pride a little.

"Just wanted to check on you. The meeting I attended in Germany was regarding a minor issue. It makes sense to return after being informed you were experiencing issues with Mr. Uzumaki." Itachi gave a mild smirk, his eyes gleaming in what Sasuke recognized as mischief.

"It's going fine." Sasuke snapped through gritted teeth, his steps increasing in speed towards his car, slipping a smooth hand into the pocket of his jacket to press a button on his car key.

The lights flickered as the car unlocked itself with an acknowledging squeak.

"Oh really? Well, if you and Mr. Uzumaki truly are getting along, surely you know his first name?" Following behind Sasuke with such a confident strut left Sasuke feeling like he was being played at like it was all a joke.

"I find first names irrelevant to business." Sasuke explained, slightly puzzled and irritated that he had to repeat this to Itachi since his brother knew how Sasuke handled his business life.

Settling into the driver's seat, Sasuke slid and locked his seat belt on as his he started the car. The ebony haired boy found frustration building up, why did it seem like everyone was trying to get him to get to know his blond partner?

Joining Sasuke on the other front seat, Itachi took pleasure from the evident confusion in Sasuke that he observed.

"Yes but Mr. Uzumaki is relevant." He contradicted Sasuke.

The engine purred smoothly as the automobile slowly descended its way to the road.

"How so?" Sasuke asked, deciding to tokay along for Itachi to get to the point. He never liked mind games, especially today with his broody temper.

"If you properly assessed Mr. Uzumaki's background you would have saved yourself the extended trouble."

With that, Sasuke felt his cheeks burn with slight anger from the mild insult that he might have possibly been lacking in an area of his job.

"What are you implying?" A smooth voice inquired with disguised venom.

Itachi only offered a smile, but not the pleasant kind, it was the type of smile that gave a person chills almost.

Almost.

"Nothing. I'm just waiting."

And that was when the conversation ended.

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><p>"Come on, believe me, he's actually a really good guy!" Suigetsu insisted as the edited through the back, wanting to catch up with each other.<p>

"No offense Suigetsu but your boss is an S-Class asshole. Don't understand how my cousin could like such an uptight dick." Naruto sipped his coffee too quickly and nearly spat it out from his scalded tongue, his breath was made of heavy swearing. Suigetsu got him the wrong type of coffee, but Naruto wasn't the type to be some over dramatic queen so he decided to drink it regardless.

They weren't really close, they simply knew each other through Naruto's cousin Karin who worked at the Uchiha company. Suigetsu was dating Karin which led to Naruto and Suigetsu meeting, acquainting themselves. Despite the fact that Suigetsu and Karin separated, Naruto and Suigetsu still kept a solid bond regardless of the loss. However, right after their separation, Karin had seemed to have taken an infatuation with her boss Mr. Uchiha.

Standing at the back of the building was not only peaceful, no one was there to disturb the atmosphere, so Naruto felt himself unwinding from the rough morning; traffic was such a pain during rush hour.

"Where would I even begin? From what I see he's closed off to everyone except his brother."

Suigetsu passed a napkin to Naruto before getting his pack of thin cigarettes out, picking out a singular stick to hold between his lips.

"Just introduce yourself." He mumbled through smiling lips, his tongue suddenly tasted bitter, knowing that it wasn't caused from his tobacco.

"I tried that remember? Twice. Before he cut me off with his 'I'm better than you' attitude, I just wanted to have a good start with my first partner…I guess it's really different from actually going through with all the stuffy meetings..." Naruto leaned against the smooth wall of the skyscraper, staring at the passing flock of birds, it seemed a younger raven was struggling to keep up, its wings flapping desperately to stay with the group.

"What do you expect? All anyone has ever noticed about him was his looks. No one ever saw or tried to get to know him." Lightening his cigarette, he inhales softly before he began gagging harshly, momentarily taking it out.

"Fuck I hate these...!" He coughed harshly, his sharp ended teeth showed momentarily, the burning of the smoke covered and dimmed the ache he felt in his chest.

_Why do you smoke them then? _Naruto asked quietly in his thoughts before he discreetly threw out his coffee, not wanting to injure his tongue anymore with more heated liquids.

"What do you mean by that?" Deep blue eyes glanced up to Suigetsu, one eye narrowed, curious as to what Suigetsu meant by his comment about the young Uchida; was Naruto correct about how the gloomy Uchiha might have been one and the same with Sasuke.

"The smokes? Oh wait... Ohhh... Yeah... My boss never grew up with people who were actually interested in him, all his 'friends' except for me, are people looking to take advantage of him. I can't recall a time when we were teens where he was ever really happy with his peers. He was smart and handsome but that was all anyone cared about when it came to him... Makes you feel sorry huh?" Suigetsu took a deep breath from his tobacco, this time the inhale and exhale was smoother. Blue clouds of smoke exhaled through his nose. There it was the painful bite the left numb burns in his core, memories of high school with the Uchiha was unbearable to reflect back on.

No matter how hard he had tried to get Sasuke to open up, Suigetsu failed without any signs of success, and here was Naruto, an idiot who literally had the ability to create happiness for Sasuke; for years he had been envious. Suigetsu realized harshly that the hide and seek game was causing him more damage than was necessary, perhaps he was the fool, for choosing to be ignorant to the idea of giving up. Right now, Suigetsu was tired if not heartbroken.

Ever since Suigetsu had the pleasure to meet a young Sasuke Uchiha, he only ever wanted to see some resemblance of happiness in Sasuke, because Suigetsu saw the hollowness in the heart of his friend, he just couldn't accept that he couldn't offer Sasuke any sort of comfort.

All those years were for nothing, and the conflicting emotions of regret and heartbreak tore at Suigetsu; leaving him feeling like a fool.

As much as the sharp toothed man hated to admit, Naruto was the best person for Sasuke, and maybe Sasuke would be good for Naruto as well. Despite this, he couldn't repress the tint wish that things would turn out badly, but somehow that prospect wasn't appealing either.

"He just needs a person to trust, which he finds is impossible." Suigetsu added before he took a heavy load of burning tobacco into his lungs, relishing the returning burn that numbed some of his other pain.

Feeling strands of empathy tug sharply at his heart Naruto could only nod a little, raising a hand to gently rub at the unpleasant sensation. "Which is why I want him to help him. To trust others ya know? I feel he's only cruel cause he's never experienced being with the right people." His choice was softer at the last word. No one could live without people, a life without people would be miserable and lonely, and Naruto understood from experience that no one truly likes being ostracized from others.

Suigetsu raised his eyebrows before Naruto laughed and added "Present company excluded of course. Does he talk to you? Like, rant?"

Nodding Suigetsu watched the ashes build on his cigarette "Yeah no... I only know a small facts of his life and that's it. Doesn't talk much." Though it shouldn't have really mattered since he was lucky enough to know anything about him at all, but Suigetsu could feel the selfish desire to know more.

The harsh smell of burning tobacco kept both of their minds alert, deathly and aware.

"What's he like in general?" Curiously the flaxen haired boy asked, as he watched the smoke of Suigetsu's cigarette float up, it reminded him of a wispy spirit.

"Let's see..." Suigetsu thoughtfully collected his thoughts as he breathed in another puff of his smoke, this time his teeth dug sharply into the paper wrapping. Closing his eyes he imagined the cold dark eyes that were smoky, a smoothly sculpted jaw, with a rather pretty lip shape.

"Unsociable, impossible to go near, never looks people in the eyes, and just... Cold. He ain't a bad person, He's just never had anyone who stayed and accepted his terrible personality..."

Sadly, Suigetsu was never really close with Sasuke, he was the closest to ever manage a crack in the barrier of Sasuke's heart, but nothing else could further work into his coldly steeled heart much to his dismay.

They both looked at each other, holding their breath. Suigetsu held on to search Naruto's crystal clear eyes, and Naruto held on in hopes of his friend to continue.

Suigetsu continued with begrudging defeat "No one ever really took the time to really see him. I guess when you grow up with people only complimenting how great his looks are he thinks he's only worth that much. So far he's gotten by with his looks and intelligence. Though I'd gander he was favored mostly for his looks, even his parents only ever complimented him for his mannerisms."

Just as Naruto had predicted, it seemed the Uchiha just needed someone to stay around to teach what it felt like to trust others, to have people that would never go back on their word. Maybe the Uchiha was tired of lies and forgotten promises.

Feeling the ache in his chest again, Naruto could feel the pain. Whatever lonely life the Uchiha must have gone through, it must have been painful without having anyone he could talk to, to feel human with, to just feel free and accepted.

He could feel the pain too, and Naruto felt the desire to help him, as he remembers flashes of his childhood, wanting to prevent that loneliness from ever happening to anyone.

The Uchiha must have believed he was alone, by telling himself that.

Dawning on him, Naruto turned to Suigetsu "I can't believe I fucking forgot but... What's your boss's name?" He asked, trying to ease the feeling of stupidity in his pride, trying to save face before he was an idiot.

"Sasuke." With every force he had, Suigetsu managed to keep his lips firm and neutral, his voice was trembling, though Naruto assumed it was from the cigar.

Both kept eye contact, Naruto froze in place as his ears processed the word to his brain, the gears were finally turning in the correct direction for once.

"...SHIT!" Naruto exclaimed.

Suigetsu soon followed with uncontrolled laughter as his golden haired friend sprinted past him.

It was up to Naruto to decide how things would turn out, Suigetsu had confidence things would turn out fine.

He was a professional when it came to spotting love, and Suigetsu knew that Naruto was the best person to get through the barricaded walls of Sasuke's emotions.

Sasuke deserved to be happy, and Suigetsu was desperate enough to allow anything to comfort Sasuke's tired soul.

Even if It meant Suigetsu would never shed light that he loved Sasuke all this time.

"Tsk, didn't think it'd hurt this much." He threw his cigar and crushed it with his foot, letting the pain ease in his chest and uplift with every breath he took.

First loves never did last anyway.

At least Suigetsu now knew that love tasted bittersweet.

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><p><strong><em>Falling<em>**

**_Falling_**

**_I fell in love with you._**

**_You're just a ghost behind a screen._**

**_I love you._**

**_Say it back when we meet._**

**_Even if we don't know each other._**

**_Embrace me._**

**_So I can cry out my grief._**

**_But even I know that's not possible._**

**_Love never lasts._**

**_So turn back._**

**_Then regret hit me._**

**_I looked back._**

**_But you were gone._**


	6. Chapter 6: Drowning

_No way. Fucking hell... Ahh what the fuck? _Naruto's brain was tumbling in it's confused thoughts, forcing Naruto to run and run.

There wasn't any special place he wanted to go to, not really, he just needed to move, to do something because the shaky beat of his heart caused him to feel afraid.

Confrontation was never his best skill, not when it came to things like love.

Whether it was incompetence to multitask or stupidity, Naruto accidentally tripped over his feet and his head met the hard wall.

"Fuck!" He yelped, the skin of his head suddenly burning in sharp pain, a ringing noise invaded his ears, and dizziness swallowed him for a second before his hand found the wall to rest his weight on as he gathered all his mental energy to focus on what he'd do next.

The pitched ring faded, but the mild pulse of discomfort and dizziness refused to lessen, which annoyed Naruto, but now wasn't the time to whine about dull pain; the flaxen haired man had to organize himself to process everything and plan.

Slowing his breathing to calm his beating heart, Naruto's clear eyes stared at the wall.

_Okay so... Sasuke... Uchiha. Same. Both... Are the same people... How fucking ironic..._

Already proud he had linked them together and cleared his mind, his heart had begun to synchronize with his slowed breathing.

_Alright... Now... Find Sasuke Uchiha. _

Shifting his weight back to his feet, he stood straight up to turn to find the elevator down the hall.

A secretary (she looked like one...) was staring at Naruto with a raised eyebrow.

Giving her a forced smile, Naruto nodded at her in acknowledgement as he walked past her, trying to save a little of his pride when embarrassment flooded in his face.

When he reached the elevators his thumb punched the up button.

Even if he did find Sasuke Uchiha, how was he supposed to tell the snappy Uchiha that he was 'Naruto'? As in his best friend.

Right coils of stress began to wind in his chest, his head dropped and stretched his arm to press '12' button and slowly the elevator began to descend.

It was obvious Sasuke found Naruto annoying, if not unbearable; so it might mean an end to their friendship since Sasuke had met Naruto in real life, not through a letter or email.

Naruto wasn't the best at manners and customs, but he was sincere and empathetic to the core, it always seemed to charm people despite his brash temper and attitude.

But at the moment, Naruto was at a loss for words and actions, his charisma was his best quality but now he was experiencing a sense of self-disgust. Never had he imagined Sasuke to be so... Exquisite.

Sharp eyes that were filled with cool assessment and intelligence, skin a polished white marble, and a personality that was admirable yet so frigid. So perfect.

So different from Naruto.

Naruto just wasn't built for perfection; 'graceful' didn't describe him, nor did 'intelligence', and especially not 'callous'.

The fair haired man was known to be pugnacious yet easygoing, riotous but also placid, and emotional. Sasuke was... Meticulous, impartial and so pulchritudinous. Naruto was assertive to a point of flaws, clumsy, and far too boisterous to be considered a serious businessman.

Naruto had so many contrasting pieces of personality that were hues of bright orange, jumping yellow, fierce crimson, and calming hues of blue; he was born far too wild and colorful, in the adult world, his personality was categorized as 'childish' and 'idiotic' for never growing out predilection, because adults are meant to be stern and lose all sense of childish wonder.

It just left Naruto with a feeling of loneliness, having realized Sasuke and Naruto were in reality, two different entities when it came to personality.

At '8' the door opened and Naruto froze in place, his veins shrunk to stop his blood cold.

_Shit! It's fucking Sasuke... _Naruto heavily swore as his heart pounded viscioisly on his chest, he wasn't ready yet, he was still rehearsing what to say, but before he said anything all the anxiety drained away in one second when he realized the man before him was in fact, not Sasuke, but someone older.

It was Itachi Uchiha, Sasuke's older brother, at least that's what he assumed by the similar eyes, face shape, and smirk.

The similarities were clear that both brothers were definitely blood related with their perfectly sculpted bodies; in too many ways their characteristics dominated other with how uniquely beautiful they both were. The Uchiha brothers both resembled something out of a marble sculpture from the Greek times, being young, charming, professional, and dedicated, though Itachi had a much more mature look about him the way his eyes narrowed in concentration in comparison to his younger brother. Plus, Itachi seemed to be the easier one to start a friendly conversation without having to worry about being treated coldly by him.

"Naruto Uzumaki." Itachi nodded his head at the surprised blond before stepping into the elevator, right beside Naruto.

"Hey... Itachi Uchiha right? Nice to see you, I thought you were in Germany?" Naruto commented with slight panicked smile, he didn't know what to do and that just brought the feeling of stupidity with standing there completely useless.

"Yes, I suppose it would have been more appropriate to inform you and Sasuke about my early return." Itachi's smooth voice rolled off his tongue in a low purr.

The heart in Naruto's chest skipped a beat.

"But I suppose you and my brother are getting along?" Beautiful black, marble eyes glanced to Naruto in a warm manner.

Feeling a bit of shame Naruto shook his head, still looking at his feet. "Ah... About that, not really... I was acting too idealistic and hot tempered... I came up to..." Now that he thought about it, why was he going up to see Sasuke? He never planned this far... Then again he wasn't an expert at organization.

"... Apologize." He settled on the intent to apologize, the way it sounded made it retain a negative sound. Problem was, was that Naruto may end up apologizing to Sasuke if it the result was rejection once he revealed the truth about himself.

Or if he was lucky, it'd turn out better than he expected, perhaps it'd might end with a romantic turn.

His head tilted up, a dry laugh escaped from his mouth.

Wishful thinking was so painful when he was reminded of reality.

Romance was always a dream Naruto never once pursued, the idea was tempting but at the same time frightening. Despite him

being adult, he retained the faith in falling in love.

"You don't appear to be compunctious about it..." Itachi's eyes raised, his expression slightly frowning, though his eyes shined with something Naruto couldn't put into words.

Clearing his throat nervously, Naruto answered, "Well... I'm anxious... Sasuke and I haven't been getting along..."

"I see." Itachi quietly concluded, his eyes observing Naruto, like a crow watching a mouse run about.

_Shit... _

Tingles of right throated fear ran through the blond haired businessman, his shoulders tensing and his throat stiffened, choking out the air in his lungs.

Naruto panicked a little, from the dangerous aura of the man beside him.

He was overshadowing Naruto with his intense calm was serene and casual, but beneath his words and body posture was something intimidating, everything about him reminded Naruto too much of a samurai waiting for the right opportunity to cut down his enemy, just silently waiting kill, but the question was, what was his goal?

"So if you could enlighten me, what inspired you to choose business? By the state of your personality, something more artistic and cultivated would offer rewarding opportunities." Itachi inquired, careful as always when choosing his words, never taking the risk of offending relatively new acquaintances; gracefully keeping the conversation casual.

Luckily for Itachi, Naruto was never one to jump to conclusions and was densely ignorant to subtle hints when it came to chitchat.

His ears tinted with a rosy pink out of embarrassment, Naruto scratched his cheek gently with his nail in embarrassment, giving a small smile.

"You think so...? Heh, thanks I guess." His shying blue eyes slowly ventured back to meet with Itachi's startling intense ones, nonetheless he continued to answer, "My dad Minato has always enjoyed working with people, making new bonds for business... Helping people in my community with new products is my dream after my dad's project had succeeded in helping my mom recover from her disability." He happily blurted with overflowing enthusiasm, when the realization dawned on him of his impulsive reply, and embarrassment took over once again; not long it faded and his face brightened as his eyes lit up to earnestly tell Itachi: "My dad's projects have always aided in making people's lives easier... I want to live like that... Helping people."

Itachi only needed one glance to believe Naruto with his content expression.

He had been passionate with his reply, it was a nice change of pace for Itachi to finally strike a conversation with a unique individual, it was like someone had spilled the bright colors of orange and yellow into a grey monochrome canvas. The bright colors were beginning to infect Itachi the way a flower absorbs the sunshine.

_Dangerous. _Itachi concluded. If Itachi had been anyone else he might have pursued the blond, but that wasn't his goal at the moment.

The blue eyes were capturing to Itachi, almost drowning in the radiant colour, the aura of Naruto was something unique, able to make Itachi feel himself give in to the sincerness of the bright blond. Perfect to care for his brother when he's gone.

The rest of the way up was peacefully silent, though it seemed both had wanted to say something to each other. The movie elevator slowed as it opened its doors to the desired floor for both of them.

Naruto gestured Itachi to go ahead. Thanking him with a nod Itachi walked past, momentarily stopping to say something to Naruto "Sasuke is usually in his office at this time." Before he continued to walk in a confidence.

The refined businessman had seemed at peace, but Naruto couldn't help but take notice of the established satisfaction his expression had, as if he was- no, Naruto shook his head to shake off the uneasiness he felt coil in his stomach.

"I'll see you around." Naruto replied, not really caring if Itachi heard him since he knew he was only reassuring himself that they'd see each other again.

Brushing off any doubts and paranoid thought Naruto lumbered his way to his friend's office, feeling his throat tighten in anxiety, his hands feeling gritty and clammy. He could do this.

Even if Sasuke didn't want to accept that he was 'Naruto' his pen pal, Naruto wouldn't stop pursuing his friend to accept him, he'd fight tooth and nail to re-establish their friendship, even if it meant starting from square one.

Cold air conditioning made his fingers grow cold and even colder when Naruto settled his hand on the icy knob. Fingers curled around the knob and turned it, entering in without a second thought.

Stepping in the room, Naruto settled his eyes to Sasuke who had his cellphone in his hand.

Instead of asking "You got a minute?" Like he had rehearsed in his head, he found himself asking "Dude... Why the heck do you have my phone?"

Sprinting forward to grab back his phone, it was revealed that Sasuke had been going through his email.

And the email he was viewing was their conversation. It was the email of Sasuke's reply.

_...Even so... had I known you were by yourself when you were young would have been something I would have been willing to listen to. You don't always have to pretend you're so happy now to be strong..._

_...I'm your friend Naruto, I want to know these personal things so I can empathize with you..._

_...I care about you. I do. So don't shut me out on these things, I won't hurt you..._

Naruto felt his face drain if confidence and color, glancing at Sasuke who's face was best described to be at a loss for words. There was too little detail for Naruto to understand if the shock meant something good or bad.

Immediately Naruto opened his mouth to ask if Sasuke understood who he was now, but oddly enough he found his jaw refusing to move to form words.

Forcing himself to calm down and relax he decided to play dumb, Naruto wanted to be the one to tell Sasuke first, but for now he wanted to play it safe, so he could explain himself before Sasuke would close himself off from Naruto.

"Explain why you were looking through my 'unforgivable porn' email" Naruto asked hastily, his eyes were a blue swirl of curiosity, anticipating for something dangerous to happen.

"You're him." Sasuke muttered, with a slightly disappointed tone, which sent tingles of unwanted sensations of rejection

"What do you mean?" Naruto tilted his head, ignoring that his voice was rough and a little cracked

"Your name is Naruto."

"Yeah? And...?" Naruto insisted for Sasuke to extend what he meant by that.

Sasuke shot an annoyed look at him "My name is Sasuke." The husky voice no longer alluring, instead it was a growl out of anger.

This information wasn't new, but that didn't mean he still couldn't experience the direct confirmation.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki. Nice to meet you." Naruto replied, returning the confirmation with his own name.

Closing his eyes momentarily, Naruto felt his chest contract from the obvious rejection in Sasuke's face.

But when his eyes opened again, the heart shattering feeling faded when he met the warm dark eyes.

Before the eyes had been so frigid and venomous, that Naruto was the stranger in enemy land.

Now, after Sasuke had found the truth with the evidence being the phone, frozen black had transitioned into a almost welcoming dark oil.

Sasuke's face wasn't tight anymore, his eyes were calm, which was new because it was almost a serene gaze. The shine of his eyes were anticipating an answer.

This was an opportunity for Naruto to explain and turn their relationship into a good thing

But things never go as planned when instinct takes over and drops a pebble over what could either be a landmine or a field of flowers.

His hand gripping the phone was still on, he scrolled down by the brush of his finger and saw the last sentence that triggered something.

_...Cause I love you._

"I love you." he blurted out, the emotions he had felt for Sasuke suddenly gushing out like a waterfall.

Soon he was screaming at himself, regretting all his life choices.


	7. Chapter 7: Hello Goodbye

A/N: This is actually on time, I'm so proud of myself. In the beginning I had about 3 ways I wanted to end this chapter but apparently my mood settled on to this lovely piece of writing. So please enjoy. And thank you for your beautiful support. Note: if you dislike the story, don't read anymore. Seriously. If you still do and want to leave hate go ahead, but please don't demean yourself by leaving a guest review because you're scared to what I'll reply. I'm not scary, but I do laugh at people who leave hate as guests, I just can't take someone serious if they can't even feel comfortable to leave an opinion connected to them.

* * *

><p><em>Fuck.<em> they both thought for different reasons. Unpleasant sensations spread and tangled itself around both of them like a web.

Both drowning victims of their own making.

Naruto wanted to kick himself for not properly thinking about his words, feeling shame for confessing like some starry eyed preteen. It wasn't like he was desperate—well maybe he was, but only for Sasuke.

At least now he could proudly claim he had an attraction to his friend before having a physical attraction. Of course, Naruto found his personality absolutely distasteful before realizing who he was, which blocked out the pheromones Sasuke pretty much oozed from every pore he had.

Pale skin smooth and glowing, dark smoldering eyes and hair, and an arrogant smirk that should have been illegal. Perhaps if Sasuke introduced himself flirtatious, he could have been a famous model in contrast to a professional businessman.

So undeniably hot and attracting, but so frigid and repelling.

It seemed a little lonely when he took it into perspective. But now he screwed himself over, the arrangement he made himself of slowly inching closer to the Uchiha went down the drain as he decided to drop a confession in the most awkward fashion.

Sasuke on the other hand was busy connecting the dots to the root cause of Naruto's confession—the reality of the confession sent tingles down his spine—was from reading the email Naruto had read when he caught the wandering blue eyes glancing at the screen right before he abruptly dropped words of love.

Tingles of excitement drowned his nerves, but quickly stained with something heavy that would have been identified as anxiety—due to the inexperience of such intense fear, it remained unnamed to Sasuke. Surprise was an absent favor of his life, so when it arrived it was lucid and forceful; terrifyingly foreign.

Naruto swallowed heavily, waiting for an answer, irritation beginning to build from the unbearable wait for the reply.

Of course Naruto was confident, but he was still human. Scenarios of despairing rejection kept playing out in the back of his head. _He's not saying anything... Oh fuck... I shouldn't have said anything. Stupid, stupid, stupid!_

Although the contact they had with one another's gaze was fleeting, the reflection of each other's emotions synchronized heavily, chills ran down their spines like spiders on a thin thread.

Both were somewhat distant, but felt so intimate and heated by being in the room together by themselves, the heat of their bodies emanating from one another, their ripples warmth mixing at the middle.

"No." Sasuke dropped, still somewhat shell-shocked of the confession, surges of fear overflowed and took over his tongue.

The moment Naruto had opened his mouth, the gears of their online friendship were strong but unmoving until the confrontation. Now, the gears had begun shifting, changing something with their friendship. The pounding in his heart was fierce, threatening his body to give in to the pull he felt around the flaxen haired man.

But this wasn't his Naruto.

The Naruto he chatted online within wasn't the same man he loved, the one he found endearing, witty, or the one he felt at peace.

This brazen man of dancing fire was far too wild and turbulent for his liking.

Untamed and unwavering storm.

Openly honesty to a fault.

Forcing himself to take a step back, Sasuke sneered at Naruto's fallen expression, his jaw clenching and his dark eyes freezing.

"No," he repeated coldly, his heart beginning to twitch in slight regret out of acknowledgment that their friendship was turning into smoke, slipping away from his fingers.

"This isn't..." The words that would've finished the setting went blank in his mind.

Closing his eyes, gritting his teeth before his muscles relaxed before he focused on Naruto's deep blue eyes, his composure solidifying with every second.

"Naruto..." The name rolled nicely on his tongue.

A nervous pink revealed itself when Naruto answered, the blue hue of his eyes muddling in confusion.

"Yes?" He answered in a soft whisper, his tongue wetting dry lips, his hand pinching at the fabric at his pants out of anxious habit.

Sasuke stared a bit too long at the innocent action before he continued.

"Understand, that had I known who I was contacting, I would have taken the initiative to stop contact with each other."

Blue eyes narrowed, "Why?" he asked.

"Because you're asking me to step into something complicated. I don't mix my business with personal affairs." Tones of his voice was a thick mixture of detachment, and fluid regret.

Naruto felt his anger erupt in burning bits of scarlet. "But we came first." Naruto took a step forward. "You and I were each other's first bond."

"Yes." Dark eyes glared at Naruto, his own voice nearly betraying himself "We were close... It was unhealthy to have stretched it this long. Both of us kept our friendship alive through high school. It's enough, friendships never last."

"It's not fucking enough." Naruto deadpanned. "You're treating this friendship as some kind of food. I can accept rejection... I can." The once passionate voice faded before reviving "But what I've seen... You're treating emotions and relationships like they have some kind of expiration date." Naruto growled, looking ready to throw a punch.

"How would you know?" Sasuke asked back, an obvious jab at Naruto by implicating that they weren't as close as the sincere blond had believed initially. That Sasuke never truly considered Naruto a close friend.

Hurt twisted in Naruto's face, before his withdrew himself slightly, bringing out ribbons of regret that slowly wrapped around Sasuke's throat, making it difficult for him to speak up to take back his words.

Slowly blinking, his eyes calmed to kindle before speaking again with somewhat sad tone, sounding a bit lost "Aren't you tired?" Asked Naruto, slightly pained as if recalling a painful memory.

"Of what?" Sasuke impatiently inquired, tapping his foot gently against the floor, his guilty feelings ebbing away.

"This." His hands gestured around him.

Quirking his eyebrow quietly, Sasuke could only return the gesture by patiently waiting for him to clarify.

Crossing his arms, he waited.

"You... You told me once. Just once through a letter during our last year in high school, you hated living as the shadow of your brother." Naruto opened his mouth to continue but hesitated at the sudden glare Sasuke gave before pressing on. "Itachi out shined you in high school, constantly isolated when all you wanted was someone to take the time to bond with you..."

"Naruto." Sasuke warned with a tight growl, he didn't want to get into this topic. All he wanted was to maintain a mutual business project. Now that Naruto was here, Sasuke didn't want to be hated by this person for his cold heart. He already lost his best friend today.

"I understand that feeling. I do..." Naruto's hand rested on his own chest and continued "You know me. I know you."

Taking a moment, Naruto's face grew somewhat bitter from recalling a memory of having garbage thrown at him when he was ten.

"Growing up believing I was nothing was so dark and lonely... But we bonded. You were the only one I met that could empathize with true loneliness... I know you're actually thoughtful... But I don't understand why you try so hard to hide it... You don't have to change to keep yourself happy."

"How could you fucking understand how I feel?" Sasuke darkly asked with a disgusted tone, slightly hoping Naruto would give up on him already.

"You never had a family to begin with. You don't understand the concept of losing everything, someone like you is ignorant and stupidly naive, I don't need some idiotic blonde getting the idea he has the right to patronize me."

Sasuke took a step back, his personality enveloped with bitter emotions as he recalled moments of his deserted childhood. The

His own mother Mikoto killed herself when he had been eight years old after she had been diagnosed with Alzheimers.

Fugaku, his father, follows his wife in death by refusing food, slowly starving himself before succumbing to death, joining his wife in the afterlife, deserting his two children that needed him.

While his brother had taken the initiative to work harder to care for both of them, leaving Sasuke to himself.

Feeling useless and a burden to his entire family. Twisted and detestable from the start, he was stained with all these ugly parts of his personality.

"Don't talk about things you could never understand, you don't have the right." Sasuke added, sneering at Naruto's beliefs.

Blue eyes erupted to a sharp blue, blazing like a bonfire, Naruto argued back. "Actually I do have the fucking right you cold hearted bastard, you're my friend, practically my brother."

_You're right. So go already._The ebony haired man thought.

"As if you could even understand what family even is. You had no one. Someone as pathetic as you couldn't be my friend." Sasuke snapped, each of his own words stabbed sharply through every layer of skin he had. Almost immediately, his false anger drained when he caught the flashes of shock and dejection in Naruto's face. Blue eyes looked away for a moment, dropping down to his feet, the loud blond suddenly wordless with a tightened fist by his thigh, the tan fingers digging sharp crescents into his palm.

"Naru-" Sasuke blurted words in a whisper to attempt an apology but was cut off by Naruto's muted, bitter reply.

"You're right. I don't know these things about you because it's harder to explain it through words."

Sasuke rolled his eyes before hissing "Because speaking with you in person is so much better, to me you're useless. I don't need you"

_I do need you._

Forcing a smirk and a harder voice Sasuke continued his act. This had happened before. Someone claiming to care giving up if he continued to continue his acting of being the black-hearted person everyone made him out to be. Naruto would give up.

They always did.

"A blockhead like you could never amount to anything worth caring over."

_ You've achieved so much by yourself. You don't need someone like me to drag you down. _

But Naruto refused to give in to Sasuke's attempts to repel him "All you're doing is making yourself seem like this asshole... But you're not. I know you're not. You've made bad decisions, but that's alright... Through our exchange of words this bond we have... Is important to me, because you're worth chasing after... You deserve to be happy... And I know you don't actually like being alone... So please..." His words began to falter as a whimper which tore at Sasuke's chest.

Naruto bit his lip before he continued "Don't push me away. I won't betray you. I won't ever hate you or judge you."

Everything fell from Sasuke's mind except for Naruto's expression.

Desperate eyes drowned in fear struck and enraptured Sasuke.

"..." Sasuke was at a loss for words, what was he supposed to say now?

Naruto watched Sasuke struggle for the right words to use, slowly approaching Sasuke with a careful embrace to give his panicked friend assurance that he had no malevolent intentions.

"...Why?" He pleaded for an explanation for the purpose of Naruto's unwavering compassion and empathy. Emotions were drowning both of them in the room.

Naruto never broke gaze, his eyes clear and open like sea glass.

A small sad smile appeared on the tanned lips.

"Because every time we had exchanged our words I could see your traces of pain... I guess in a way, I felt your pain too... I didn't want to see you alone like this..."

Sasuke could only nod, pressing his face into Naruto's neck, covering his face to hide the weak expression that had taken over him.

Failure. He was a failure. Naruto refused to budge and Sasuke gave into him. He was weak.

He was so useless and u- "You're beautiful you know." Naruto began to softly whisper to Sasuke, as if he was starting a casual conversation.

But Sasuke didn't dare to stop him, he felt himself compelled to listen to the soft timbre of Naruto's silky tone.

"Skilled in everything, good heart though an asshole on the outside."

The pounding of Sasuke's heart was once terrifying, but now it was slower, calming with Naruto's heartbeats.

"Naruto...?"

"Yes?"

"I..." Sasuke's throat closed up again, this time he had stopped himself from repeating the same mistake Naruto had made.

Whatever these feelings were, they were not romantic. Naruto and Sasuke could never be together, this was supposed to be strictly business.

He had already broken his own rules by accepting the friendship of this brashly vibrant man.

If he allowed himself to tip any farther, he's drown in this odd pool of warmth and assurance.

Shaking his head to himself his heart sank heavier "...Nothing."

At the same time, both of their hearts feel unknowing of the other's disappointment.

Naruto scolded himself for suddenly hoping Sasuke was about to confess; it was clear their relationship would never be romantic or sexual. Just platonic, which was good enough for Naruto.

He could live with this.

* * *

><p>"You have about a good two weeks left before your heart gives out. Only known treatment is a heart surgery to replace yours with a healthy one." The doctor explained, keeping a serious expression, though it was obvious she was holding herself from revealing any grim expression. Sakura, a recent heart specialist had Itachi Uchiha as her first patient.<p>

Unfortunately his heart was already very weak to begin with from getting sick at a young age, his heart not quite as strong anymore.

Recently this year, his heart had trouble keeping a strong steady beat,

By the time he checked it out, it was already very weak, it didn't surprise Itachi though.

Itachi had an understanding that his health had always been very bad despite everyone else's ignorance; he had just been a good actor, luckily for him, Naruto had arrived to care for his little brother when he was gone. Nothing else mattered as long as Sasuke was happy.

Acknowledging his options Itachi spoke while seated comfortable on the chair across "So I either have the replacement surgery or die?"

Nodding slowly "Yes." She answered, despite her dislike for using such a cynical sentence to simplify the decision making.

Taking another glance at her clipboard she suggested with her professional opinion "I would recommend placing yourself on the waiting list for a heart at the moment. That way with luck we'll get you a heart."

"That won't be necessary. Thank you for suggesting it but I won't be needing it." Itachi calmly told.

Sakura couldn't help but quirk an eyebrow "Pardon?" She inquired, despite having heard him clearly.

Understanding her question was for a explanation and not for him to repeat his statement he continued with excellent serenity "I understand how many others require a good heart. Sakura... Death doesn't quite scare me now that I'm ensured my family will be cared for when I'm gone. So don't place me on the list. Others need a heart. I'm just one man who isn't desperate to live or die."

"I see..." Sakura could only try to understand his decision. As a doctor she couldn't force him.

"I assume you don't have any regrets?" She inquired out of curiosity, and perhaps she was seeking out comfort that her patient would at least pass on peacefully, so she'd know she didn't fail as a proper doctor to save lives or improve them, that by letting the man before her accept death was not a bad thing.

Dark eyes met her sea green eyes before he thoughtfully considered an answer.

"Not quite, I wish I could have acted as a better brother to my younger brother." Although his tone was still very neutral, Sakura picked up on the shards of regret imbedded in his words.

The only offering she had was to give him a smile and some words of advice as a friend and not a doctor.

"I'm sure he understands you love him at least. Just talk to him and everything will be alright."

Stepping up to his feet, Itachi gave Sakura a light nod and smile "Thank you." her words were encouraging and gave him slight hope that Sasuke wouldn't hold it against him for keeping this a secret from him until recently.

Stepping out the door, Itachi made his way past the other patients and doctors, his thoughts centered around his younger brother.

When the time came to say a proper goodbye, would Sasuke be there? Or would he refrain from doing so out of spite? No matter. Itachi would still love Sasuke.

A heavy sigh escaped from him, his heart weakly beating to keep up with his body.

_Just a bit longer._ he told himself.

He only needed to last a bit longer to fix some things before he's gone.

* * *

><p>AN: beginning to try to reply to som guest reviews since I've been feeling guilty for not responding to the guest reviews people had left me.

So bottom is pretty much reply to guest reviews.

Guest: Yes they are quite the cute couple aren't they? I'm quite excited to what I have in store for them.

Ttracee: I can relate to the whole long wait thing, luckily for you I'm pretty impatient and stubborn when it comes to writing.

Guest: You know If you dislike it, don't read it then, why get yourself so worked up over THREE chapters of ONE story? Plus leaving a guest review because you just might be scared what I'll reply? Sorry but I can't take you seriously, I was grinning the entire time. Btw: this is fanfiction. Calm down, seriously, you're not paying me, plus it takes me a while to write, so this is actually outlet for silliness. All your argument is that they're idiots. You haven't given me a proper argumentative essay as to why. Therefore I give you a D- for your amazing use of English. But seriously relax.


	8. Chapter 8: Dry Apple Like Water

**Warning: THIS HAS MENTION OF DEATH, DESCRIPTIONS OF DEPRESSION. TRIGGER WARNING FOR THOSE WHO ARE SENSITIVE TO SUCH TOPICS.**

A/N: Apologies for being late, I've been too busy... exams are coming, this chapter was originally meant to be one, but it grew too long, so I ended up chopping it in half, I think the next chapter will be up next week, pretty sure it's the last too, so don't worry its almost done!

* * *

><p>Where it's either blazing hot or numbingly cold, the the frost filled days disappear, replaced by burning temperatures. It's a favorite transition of seasons. Mosquitos aren't out yet,<br>but the animals are. At night when everyone but one is asleep, the window allows the singing of the frogs, and crickets; its the only time I feel calm. The turmoil inside of me is soothed. It makes me sad to think they'll be gone.

* * *

><p><strong>I wonder if I could find someone to comfort me in place of my favorite nights of the wildlife.<strong>

* * *

><p>"I expected you to actually find out sooner. My bad though for not telling you."<p>

"So you decided to ignore the obvious choice to tell me." Naruto growled, trying to calm himself with the crappy tea he bought from the excessively expensive cafe down the street of the building.

Throwing his hands up to abdicate any intent to defend himself, Kiba agreed "I know, I know. It was wrong of me to assume you'd find out, but I didn't believe you'd take this long to problem solve. I mean for fuck's sake man, you majored in Math!" But that didn't mean he'd pass up a the chance to get a rise out of Naruto, it was his pastime to piss off his friends on the occasion when they were naively young. Those times had been so simple.

"If you told me this wouldn't be so messy, and then thi-"

"Then what? The small change would have made things turn out differently?" Kiba asked, already knowing the obvious answer, just getting a little irritated.

Luckily for the two, the lunch room was empty, so no one could hear their escalating conversation.

Opening his mouth to bitingly reply with his worked up temper, Naruto stopped himself when he recalled Sasuke's attitude.

If Naruto properly thought about it, Sasuke had an unusual instinct to avoid any sort of physical contact, personal conflicts, and emotional words.

A business perspective would see Sasuke as the perfectly lethal partner, and with modern customs, this sort of person is the type to withdraw themselves from anything revolving emotional or different.

Someone like Naruto wouldn't ever be accepted as a love interest; the contrast between the two men was extensive.

Nodding numbly, Naruto took a weary seat beside Kiba, settled down with an understanding that the prospect of possibly being intimate with Sasuke wasn't possible any longer. Surprisingly, Naruto had made peace with it.

"Look, Naruto, I didn't expect things to have ended up shitty. Nor did I know what a jackass Sasuke can be."

"Don't you work for him?" He haughtily pointed out.

"Yeah but we've never personally talked." Kiba reasoned, offering a piece of mint to Naruto.

Taking the brightly colored wrapper, Naruto tore open one side to pop the smooth transparent pebble.

Bursts of spearmint slid down his tongue which Naruto surprisingly disliked, settling to swallow it like a pill.

"I don't know what to do now Kiba." Naruto sighed in fatigue, the entire situation was draining him out, leaving him feeling indecisive which brought in frustration in himself.

"Finish the project you guys are working on?" He deadpanned, wanting Naruto to take the hint that there were far bigger issues globally, this was no doubt a difficult disposition, but it wasn't life threatening.

It was funny for Kiba to catch himself thinking so logically instead of impulsively like he used to as a lively teenager, he'd been so naive at the time.  
>Having the privilege to have an energetic family and a soft spoken women he adored for her ability to tame his energy, content was the perfect word to describe his life.<p>

All of it was gone now.

At least Naruto never suffered an aching scar.

"I know that. Just... Personally I don't think I can survive just being 'friends'. Looking at it now, Sasuke doesn't seem to be close with anyone... We're friends by default, anything more won't work out."

Kiba stopped to ponder over Naruto's frustrated words. Out of the best interest for his close friend, Kiba offered advice, he still cared for his childhood friend to want to help him.

"Maybe it's time to let this go. You've known Sasuke since high school, and I can empathize that the idea of letting someone like that go sucks ass, but you'll live."

Naruto shot Kiba an unimpressed look, ready to stubbornly refuse Kiba's suggestion, hesitating to say anything at first because Kiba only meant the best.

"Don't give me that look. What's your plan? Step one, find out his sexuality and jump him?" Kiba sarcastically asked, taking out his ziplock bag of beef jerky to chew a strip of smoked meat, enjoying the taste of grilled salt spreading on his tongue.

Naruto sighed, face softening as he shook his head, shoulders relaxed. "I get it...But I can't. Cutting off this relationship we built through the years just because of some stupid mistake isn't right."

"Cause it isn't fair? Or are you just being stubbornly stupid?"

"I'm not being stubborn." The tanned man denied instantly.

"From the looks of it, it's not looking good, especially with how you both avoid each other like you're the plague."

Glancing at his wristwatch, Naruto got up, grabbed his bag, and gave a reluctant smile  
>"I guess I'll just have to finish up on the planning part since that's all I'm here for. Then..."<p>

Naruto sucked his lip stubbornly "I guess we'll talk about it?" He asked, unsure if it was his plan or an excuse to close the topic.

"Naruto." Kiba pressed on, wanting to hear a solid plan, he didn't enjoy watching his blond friend drown in a mess created by poor planning and a avoidance. "Is that a conclusion or a question?"

Taking a sharp breath, Naruto held in his boiled frustration that threatened to explode, allowing himself to exhale once he felt the hot feeling on his cheeks begin to lighten, shrugging his shoulders as he replied grudgingly.

"Just... Let me steer this problematic relationship back to friendship territory alright? I can handle that much."

"Could you actually go through with something like that?" Kiba further inquired, confident that Naruto was bluffing.

Initially it appeared Naruto was set with the plan, until he caved in and admitted to himself that his friend was probably right.

"Suppose not..." Naruto answered in a resigned attitude. Silence overtook the room—save for the patterned ticks of the clock, reminding each listener that time hasn't frozen.

Rolling his eyes Kiba shook his head in disbelief, trying to conjure a solution for the messy circumstances.

"...If you're that adamant I'll leave it up to Sasuke to make the first move, I'll keep things professional until he brings it up." He abruptly decided, it was the only plan that sounded stable and reasonable for his impatience, at this point, he really didn't want to risk stepping into foreign water. "During the days we work, I'll slowly distance myself." Naruto finished up gathering the papers and hastily placed them away in his suitcase.

"And if he doesn't have the intention of making the first move?"

Naruto paused right before closing his suitcase shut. "Then nothing. It ends there." Pushing the suitcase down, he locked it in place before he got to his feet to withdraw from the room.

Agreeing with his friend's plan, Kiba allowed Naruto to dismiss himself from the room with mixed feelings, refraining to say anymore regarding his friend's dilemma. It wasn't his business past this point.

He just wished Naruto would smarten up and turn away from the upcoming heartbreak that was waiting for him. Sadly he knew Naruto would never do something that required him to turn his back on someone, especially if it was a close friend of a few years, which assured if Kiba ever ran into trouble, Naruto would indefinitely be there to help him. But such stubbornness was a mixed quality.

Maybe Naruto could keep his naivety.

* * *

><p><strong>When winter comes, the fierce winds howl in whistles, haunting me as I sleep.<strong>

* * *

><p>The following days had been quick and monotonous, time being merciful to quicken the hours for Naruto. To make time fluid and productive.<p>

It had been painless but heartbreaking.

The cycles were the same. Wake up, get dressed, eat, brush teeth, get to work, get back home, and sleep.

Naruto mostly spoke through Suigetsu, Gaara, and twice with Itachi when he needed to discuss details since Sasuke was always 'outside' when he'd approach the brunette's secretary to schedule an appointment.

For the time period, Sasuke had pretty much disappeared from the face of the earth—Naruto didn't mind, knowing Sasuke had every right to cope and care for his older brother with as much space and time he had.

Itachi Uchiha had been the leading prodigy of the company, so when it became news that the elder brother had fallen ill, it meant catastrophe for the future of the company, people buzzed around, whispering secretive rumors.

Seeing how the Uchiha family was being treated as a form of entertaining gossip during an emotional time, left Naruto feeling concerned over Sasuke's welfare considering his absence, not many people had seen him since word spread regarding Itachi's poor health. Naturally this filled him with worry. Out of concern, Naruto approached Sasuke once after he had finally cornered the distant man.

The only problem was that Naruto had nearly suffered a kick in the eggs whenever he attempted to give his empathy to Sasuke.

Apparently this gesture had been received as pity rather than empathy to Sasuke, alleviating to something aggressive when it had been revealed Itachi had a heart problem.

Somehow, they got things done with the indirect contact despite it being incredibly impractical in the business world. Naruto wasn't exactly satisfied with the minimum contact he had with Sasuke , but he wouldn't voice it, Sasuke was going through a hard time with his brother being sick, Naruto needed to hold his peace against the sting of complete rejection that nestled in his chest.

In a way it was good thing. The pain reminded Naruto of where it came from.

Call it masochism, but the pain he felt was the only emotional connection Naruto had left with Sasuke. Words were no longer exchanged, contact was scarce, and emails were pretty much taboo at this point.

The sense of rejection offered secretive comfort to the blonde, that Sasuke had mattered to him by the emotions he was flooded with, and in a way, he had mattered to Sasuke with the obvious avoidance upon discovery of each other's identity.

Though Naruto and Sasuke hadn't conversed often, Naruto had an odd guess Sasuke was actually feeling panicked by the current situation, as usual though, not a word or hint of anything personal left Sasuke's lips. All in all, it shouldn't have surprised Naruto though, Sasuke was more business man than fun friend, and would probably wave off emotions as baggage.

A couple more days passed and news finally arrived of Itachi's passing. It was the sinking of the ship. Something about it seemed unreal to everyone.

Itachi had been known by everyone in the building, the idea of death—a concept that brought out the worst and best out of humans—arriving to spirit away Itachi's soul, was terrifying and tragic. A piece of everyone's life crumbled into powder, bleaching out the existence of Itachi's life in their memory, marking a dead person gone.

Keeping things respective, only a select few had been selected to be given the permission to pay their respects at the funeral. Naruto heard from his cousin Karin that she, Suigetsu, Neji, Shikamaru, and Itachi's secretary Kisame.

As being one of Sasuke's friend since high school, Naruto found himself believing he had been purposely left out which didn't sit well with him after another week had jumped by, the final day of his project approaching very soon.

Motivated by worry, Naruto intended to check on Sasuke by begging it out of Sasuke's secretary Ino Yamanaka who might as well have been his replacement with her amazing competence to adjust to Sasuke's schedule despite it being incredibly busy with her own; Ino had much more literary abilities in contrast to Sasuke.

As a successful women, her stubborn temper was known by how she cracked the whip when problems with the work increased. Naruto knew Ino was at the same level of closeness thanks to Suigetsu informing Naruto that she had been Sasuke's childhood friend as well.

So it would have made better sense that she tell Naruto to leave when he demanded for Sasuke's address, obviously siding with Sasuke Uchiha's wishes for privacy, instead she scribbled out the address and pulled off the sticky note to slap on his forehead before pinching nose gingerly.

Of course, this left Naruto feeling baffled at the odd submission to his demand; usually people protested and required him to heavily beg and or persuade them to give in.

"Wha-" Naruto began, eyes furrowing in confusion.

"He's a moron." She answered with a lopsided smiles, soft baby blue eyes were bittersweet "Sasuke thinks being by himself is best. When things get bad, he doesn't turn to other people... I suppose it's because he believes that depending on people is weak..." Her eyelashes fanned down, her lashes framing her sad eyes in a melancholic nature "To him, love is something he doesn't need."

"Why are you telling me this?" Naruto asked, voice mildly urging to understand Ino's decision to help him, not that he wasn't grateful, he just wanted to to know why. Slowly he peeled off the note she handed to him, reading the address to himself before he carefully folded it horizontally.

"Five years back I asked him out only to be rejected. I never understood why because I never took the chance to understand him and how he felt... My feelings are selfish when it comes to him... I realized that now."

Her eyes blinked slowly, looking up to meet Naruto's that softened to something comforting. The serene emotion Ino felt prod her soul from the mere glance of blue assured her that Sasuke may have found someone compatible to warm the walls of his icy heart.

Giving a peaceful smile Ino placed a hand on Naruto's taut shoulder.

"As a person who watched him afar, he doesn't realize he needs people. From what I've seen, you must have been close for Sasuke to care enough to avoid you."

Not wanting for her to get her hopes high he protested "But we aren't..." He painfully admitted, face slightly twisted from the ache he felt pulse chest.

"Oh, but you're are." She insisted, her pearly teeth beginning to show as her smile widened "Sasuke has never openly showed discomfort because of his pride, to you, it obvious he's uncomfortable, which means he cares about you."

"Ino..." Naruto didn't know what to reply. He wanted to pursue Sasuke, but if that meant others had to feel pain from it...

"Stop thinking like that." She scolded, her tone much more firmer and demanding like her usual attitude. Ino had observed the way Naruto pressed his lips, and glanced down out of conviction. She wasn't having any of that.

Naruto couldn't help but deny what he knew was the truth "But I didn't say an-"

"You didn't need to." She brushed a stray lock behind her ear, a small metallic blue star hung below her earlobe.

"Just go see him. I know he won't admit it unless he's pushed, but right now he's grieving." Her hand left Naruto's shoulder, leaving it cold again.

Glancing at her face, her lips, then her eyes, Naruto didn't have the heart to deny her something she asked for. It seemed Ino cared a lot for Sasuke.

He couldn't reject her earnest request.

"Alright." He sighed, the inner turmoil inside his difficult heart left him fatigued.  
>"I can't promise my visit will make much of a difference."<p>

Ino's expression didn't change, still looking like she had a secret with her thinned eyes and gentle smile, only marred with the sad glow in her eyes. Naruto didn't say a word as he left for the address he'd been given, giving Ino his thanks before exiting the building.

The drive had been almost peaceful with how the streets lacked cars despite it being rush hour, a cloudless blue above him. Ino's words had affected him, his mind pondered over the meanings and implications of her words.

Naruto should have realized he was an expert with words, so he should have been able to interpret her words, her actions had been based on love so how could he turn away?

Turning the wheel to the left, Naruto scanned for the single house that had been numbered 125.

Ino had given up and seemed to encourage Naruto to try where she had failed.

But who was to say Naruto would succeed in getting through to Sasuke whereas a childhood friend of the distant brunette couldn't break down the barrier around Sasuke.

Then again, the years of keeping close and constant emails weren't nothing.

Despite the cheerful days Naruto received on a daily basis, the emails from Sasuke were always the highlight of his day, managing to make him feel warmer and complete in the small gap inside him; the dent had been an aftereffect left by the rejection he was constantly exposed to as a child.

The root of the emptiness was too implanted to be erased, it had been reduced to something small and forgiving thanks to time, but a part of him still ached when he'd see two loving couples down the street.

Of course it was overshadowed by the happiness he felt for them finding their mutual.

But still, the sight would touch on his insecurity that he'd never find a lover because he was nothing worth staying with.

From the beginning, Naruto struggled with his academics, clawing just barely to the top. Struggle was too lenient of a word to describe his experience in school.

After passing by the even colored houses, Naruto finally reached a modern looking house, it was obvious it had been redone from the outside, by the modernized square shape, boarded by strips of black, thin and thick windows decorating the walls.

Parking closely to the house, Naruto swallowed air, his stomach stirring in mild discomfort from his sweaty palms.

Hastily, he skittered to the front of the house, the back of his hand pausing just above the smoothened wood.

Naruto glanced over his shoulder to get a better look at Sasuke's car. It was obvious it had been parked without much care, which made Naruto wince at the possibility of the car being damaged, from what he could tell it had received a new paint job.

It just wasn't like Sasuke to be so... Careless. From the beginning of their friendship, Naruto knew Sasuke was the type to become irritated with every imperfection.

Taking a step back, Naruto breathed out any hesitancy.

"Sasuke?" He asked, his knuckles knocking on the wood in a slow pattern, he strained his ears to pick up any response.

A few seconds after knocking there was nothing, the stubborn blond repeated his actions, knocking harder and pressing his tone harsher.

"Sasuke. I know you're in there, your car's parked. You haven't been to work for a while."

Nothing.

Naruto softened his tone, remembering Sasuke needed gentleness and consideration, slowly he rested his temple on the wood to speak in hushed words, closing his eyes to focus on the right words.

"Listen, I know I'm not the one you probably want to see... But I'm—Well, a lot of people are worried about you."

His voice trailed to something akin to broken, he took a deep breath to calm his trembling tone; he was nervous, but he needed to know Sasuke was alright. The need to know Sasuke's safety was enough to overwhelm any second thought. He refused to leave until he cared for him.

As a human, he had every right to feel sadness and have weaker moments, but this wasn't about him and his broken start in life, this was about Sasuke and the pain of losing everything important.

Through well earned friendship, Naruto wasn't a stranger to Sasuke's difficult upbringing. Growing up where traditions and expectations were tight, Sasuke went through sleep deprivation and constant comparison to his brother. About three years ago, Sasuke lost his parents from drowning.

Every shade of angst and grief overwhelmed Sasuke's life, during a brief month, Sasuke had stopped writing to Naruto.

By the time Sasuke picked up where had left, Naruto could immediately tell something was wrong with the slanted sentences and crookedly spelled words.

He gave it a week before he finally asked about what happened, to his surprise Sasuke told without much of a fight which was alarming since Sasuke was defensive about personal issues, or at least gave answers after some struggle.

Sasuke was going through the stages of grief of losing his parents, lingering in depression had been his reason for the extended time he had been gone.

Naturally, Naruto went into a 'mother' mode of sorts; doting, caring, and providing selfless kindness to help Sasuke recover. Although he was reluctant, Sasuke allowed Naruto in, and began to heal which in turn helped heal Naruto since he knew he was helping someone else heal.

This was another reason their friendship was so important.

After silence continued for a minute, Naruto took out a bobby pin from his pocket; when he worked overtime, his face and hair would feel greasy, so he had taken the advice of his mother to try pinning his bangs from his face.

Experiment with the lock, Naruto eventually got the door to unlock, he promised to himself he wasn't breaking and entering. Totally.

Entering the door, he was encountered with a mess. As a man of being lazy, Naruto was notorious for being a pig, but the sight before him was competitively bad.

A burning smell of alcohol and vomit hit him first, instinctively, Naruto gagged, trying to get the smell out of body.  
>Pools of dried vomit was decorating the floor, some splattered on the white wall. Dirty dishes were scattered along with utensils.<p>

After a moment of taking in the disaster, Naruto forged his way down the dark hall, following the trail of vomit, carefully not to trip or step on bottles of vodka, his eyes followed the label of Peach Schnapps. Terrible alcohol.

"Sasuke?" He called out, his hand pulling the door open to what he assumed was the bedroom, anxiety knotting in his stomach like bunched string.

The wood felt unpleasant against his moist fingers, his eyes hoping to find Sasuke. Naruto was worried he'd find his friend sick, or worse. Dead.

_Sasuke... What did you do?_ He wondered through paranoia, hoping the dead silence wouldn't mean he'd find a corpse.

Finding his throat tighten as he processed an unmoving figure under the sheets, Naruto felt his lungs suddenly breathe when he noticed the rise and fall of Sasuke's chest.  
>Finding his legs regain strength, Naruto pursued the bed to get a closer look on Sasuke.<p>

The good side of things, he was alive and seemed to just be sleeping.

Slowly he sat on the soft bed, his weight made the bed lean closer to him, his hand experimentally combed through Sasuke's hair, settling above his temple, his thumb would brush Sasuke's temple gingerly.

For that moment, Naruto didn't say a word, all he could do was feel for Sasuke, and have his need to care for his friend strengthen.

Recalling his CPR course in his last year of high school, he checked for injuries on Sasuke, then he listened for breathing, looking from the sides to watch for any irregular breathing. Nothing was off, though Naruto could guess Sasuke was feeling horrible inside.

Naruto knew Sasuke was enjoying his sleep, away from the realities of the world, so he decided to make himself productive. Getting to his feet, Naruto tucked the thick blanket over Sasuke's torso to keep him warm. Turning on his heel, Naruto started picking up the dirty laundry throughout the house, thankful the house wasn't extremely large.

Setting the first batch of clothing in the laundry machine, Naruto looked through the cleaning materials and started scrubbing off the vomit in the hallway.

Afterwards, he grabbed every bottle of alcohol and emptied it down the drain, then he placed the plates, bowls in the washer, grimacing at the vulgar smell, hoping that he hadn't missed anything.

By the time he was finished with the cleaning and scrubbing, all there left was the trash littered in the house which wasn't quite bad. A few wrapper here and there.

With good timing, he finished cleaning up the moment Sasuke stumbled across him.

In the light, Naruto took in the deeper details of Sasuke's face. The darker tinge under the his eyes drained Sasuke's natural charisma, his eyes mildly bloodshot, obviously from drinking and sleep deprivation.

To his surprise, Naruto watched Sasuke meet his eyes, recognizing him, only to approach the table in the diner room to sit, staring at the recently cleaned table. The house no longer smelled of harsh puke, so it was easier to think of his next actions.

Believing this would have been a good time to start a conversation after so long, Naruto sat across from Sasuke, placing an apple in front of his silent friend, encouraging quietly got him to eat.

"I'm surprised you could clean at all." Sasuke mumbled.

Much can to Naruto's delight, it seemed Sasuke wasn't opposed to talking with him.

Brightening his face, Naruto eagerly took the chance to converse. "You can thank my mom for making me learn."

Sasuke nodded, still lifeless, but he was responding nonetheless. Reluctant to bring Itachi up, Naruto pondered if continuing the small talk would have been wiser. But he shook at the idea. After Itachi's passing, Sasuke had obviously handled it poorly, and knowing his friend, he likely refrained from talking about it; probably thinking that depending on people for anything was a sign of weakness.

"About Itachi..." He slowly began, bracing himself for the aggressive reaction.

"What about him?" Dark eyes snapped up to Naruto, the familiar anger reflected in Sasuke's smoky eyes brought pain to Naruto; he could relate, he lost someone once as well. The after effect of losing a person was the worst. Empty. Hollow. Things humans can easily become and die as.

Sasuke's grief was severe, and it gave Naruto heartache to see his close friend drowning in his own anguish.'

"Look–I just..." He closed his eyes momentarily before he gathered the right thoughts and emotions. "I've told you this... And I meant it. Still do. Growing up was a struggle, but you were always there... And I know it was the same for you. It was hard, but you knew I was always there, never afraid to tell me how you feel. Just because we've met now, doesn't change anything."

Sasuke mumbled something, almost bitterly, but Naruto didn't press on the unheard vocabulary. Right now was a sensitive time.

"In any case, you need to eat something healthy."

"That's rich coming from you." Sasuke snorted, remembering how Naruto often went on about how delicious ramen was ever since he had ramen in Osaka, Japan.

"I'm serious."

Sasuke would have remained stubborn, but oddly enough, he found himself biting into the firm flesh of the red fruit; his appetite returning just by Naruto's well meaning visit.

It seemed that when it came to Naruto's kindness, he was weak against fighting the intense gaze of fierce blue that would catch fire if threatened. Thinking back on it, Sasuke had seemed to have stumbled upon a personal weakness.

All his life he believed people around him wanted something from him, although it wasn't true, he couldn't shake off his habit to doubt others.

Online, he was nobody, which was a nice change for once. No one paid him any overwhelming attention.

Naruto had been someone genuinely interested in him; a sincere person that saw Sasuke worth something without his fortune, title and expectations.

Naruto cared for him like family, not valuing how rich he was nor his achievements; accepting him as he was. Sasuke knew if they met under different circumstances, Naruto would still visit him out of pure concern, which was the difference that made him accept Naruto's request to eat.

The healthy crunchy noises were satisfied to hear, and the worried motions that stirred in Naruto had calmed a little, the tightly woven muscles loosened.

The room consisted of chewing and swallowing until Sasuke had finished the apple to the core, spitting out the seeds of course.

Not one to dawdle, Naruto started the conversation. "Sasuke... I'm sorry." He finished in short, wanting to say more. But nothing could have described the guilt he felt smother his skin like rain, soaking into his skin.

"For what?" Sasuke asked, genuinely confused, disliking the upsetting feelings tug at his high strung nerves, his throat tightened at Naruto's dismayed expression.

"For leaving you like this. I withheld ny emotions out of selfishness... After I heard about your brother I still didn't pursue you... Because I had some bitter feelings about the rejection, I gave myself excuses to avoid seeing you."

Sasuke had wanted to correct Naruto, that Naruto wasn't entirely in the wrong since he too, had been selfish, with the constant avoidance. It wasn't like Naruto had a choice, Sasuke was aware of Naruto's attempts to locate him. He reminded himself that it was his own fault for the distance in between them, that Naruto couldn't be blamed for believing this was what he wanted. To be fair, Sasuke lied to himself, convincing himself this was the best way for things to end. It was what he wanted.

He had rejected Naruto verbally, but it had been a lie before the words left his lips. Of course if it weren't for his stubborn pride, things wouldn't have turned out so badly, then again, things wouldn't have turned out much different with their current personalities.

Naruto continued, in deep remorse, taking slow breaths cox. "No matter what, I was supposed to be your friend, but I failed you. You shoul–"

"We've had our differences." Sasuke interrupted, his expression devoid of change; still very sullen, unsure where his words were coming from or why. "You being here isn't a bad thing."  
>But his words had been true to his feelings.<p>

Naruto's eyes lit up like candles, which sent flickers of wholesome warmth in his soul.

"Just like for you, I found it difficult to process you being here with me. At first I thought it was coincidence, but no one labels their emails as absurd as you." The hint of a smile tugged at Sasuke's pallid face at the sight of Naruto's brief flash of defiance at his verbal jab.

Taking his reaction for something positive, Naruto couldn't help but take his words as a chance, but Naruto had the feeling that Sasuke was feeling desperate for human company after being alone for so long, this didn't change things, he wished it did, but the lighthearted atmosphere was only an omen of how he would end things.

"Sasuke... I'm only going to say this once."

Naruto's bright eyes dimmed to something shaded which Sasuke frowned at, his words sounding soft and evasive almost.

"I love you. I know you don't feel the same and being with you me make me hopeful. The way I feel about you is strong-"

"So what are you trying to say?" Sasuke asked, sounding snappier than normal, upset Naruto had decided to bring up his feelings, reminding Sasuke of his mutual feelings that would remain unspoken.

There was a moment of silence before Naruto took a deep breath, forcing out words that refused to leave his body. "Seeing you like this hurts me, watching you makes me feel pain... But I can't stay."

Naruto grimaced at Sasuke's pallid expression. "If I stay, I don't have the confidence to promise I won't do anything irrational."

The sudden flare in Naruto's eyes startled Sasuke, it was unusual to see such alluring blue. Electric blue layered by darker hues made Naruto permeate through Sasuke's bones, making him shudder from sensual gaze.

"The plans have been settled and the beta testers will be left up to you. I've finished all my parts of this project. If there any problems, my cousin will be reachable."

Sasuke flew to his feet, irritation beginning to spill from his face, he ignored the mild wave of dizziness that floated to his head.  
>"That's rather half assed Uzumaki." He hissed, angry at the irresponsible decision to leave the project, the idea that Naruto would suddenly up and leave, it would be too troublesome to reintroduce himself to a new stranger to fix a measly problem, they were too far into their project to change things.<p>

"No. The agreement is for me to establish the plans, your company will initiate the production. I'm done." The blond huffed, his face was steel, it seemed Naruto was adamant about this.

"With me or the project?" Sasuke asked, wanting to provoke Naruto.

Sucking his lip, Naruto settled with honesty in gentle doses, Sasuke was trying to get him to say something heated and he couldn't risk that. This was supposed to be simple.

"Both. Leaving you is the best way for me to move on... I'm not so much as an idiot to believe things are the same between us." His whisper dimmed before picking up, like the pain grew with every raise in voice.

"Sasuke, I understand business and personal life are two separate things for you, which I respect, but it's not the same for me. Pretending that you and I are just businessmen feel like a lie."

"Then why did you even come here?"

Sighing in exhaustion, Naruto shook his head "Like I said... I care about you."

Sasuke wanted to blurt out his feelings, to surprise Naruto and give him a reason to stay longer, or at least seal off the goodbye.

Naruto was a beam of life, Sasuke could feel the pain from the passing days disappearing, the empty void inside stitching itself. Healing. If Naruto left, Sasuke's journey would be harder to recover from.

"I just... Don't want you to hurt yourself."

"Why? Because I'm a mess?" Sasuke snapped, expecting Naruto to straight out lie in an attempt to take back his words, only to be proven wrong.

"Yeah. You are a mess, but I'm not here because of pity." Naruto's eyes glanced to the side, a flash of pain was in his eyes. "I lost my friend Sai a few years ago from suicide right after he lost his older brother from Dercum's disease... Couldn't be cured or treated... Sai watched his own brother rot away and eventually pass."

"Naruto..." Sasuke found the new information unsettling. Naruto was the type to blame himself; when his friend had committed suicide, Sasuke could almost feel Naruto's pain, only Sasuke felt hurt because Naruto had never confided to him.

"I won't let you fade away like my friend. Not again."

Sasuke's eyes widened, his blood froze at the image of a grieving Naruto. "You never told me this..." He mumbled, his heat faintly beating like piano keys being played; thrumming and sending out soft vibrations throughout his body, it was slightly comforting to the throbbing he felt in his loins.

Almost sadly, Naruto offered a smile laced with soft thoughtfulness when he spotted Sasuke's unspoken question. Gentle pain flowing through the eyes like drops of water, making his heart wilt as it sunk.

"It was the same week time you lost your parents when it happened." He answered in reluctance.

It dawned like bricks, his heart clashing on the icy ground.

Sasuke had abandoned Naruto when he was suffering as well;had he known Naruto suffered loss as well, they could have grieved together; instead he pulled away from Naruto who would have been supportive and kind to him, just like he'd done with Itachi, lashing out when his older brother approached him out of love, spouting nothing but anger.

Now, he regretted for allowing his stubborn pride from making better memories with his older brother.  
>If he had been less troublesome, more upfront with his feelings, maybe his loss wouldn't have been as bad, or maybe it would have left a bigger hole inside him by taking away bigger chunks of his life.<p>

Naruto must have felt the same pain as him when his friend died, Naruto did value friendship to the point of fighting for it, the loss must have left a scar of unimaginable pain.

"Sasuke." Naruto called, tone a soft whisper.

Without realizing it, Sasuke's eyes had drifted down to the floor, staring somewhere which was blank; his mind had him stare slowly at the wood to distract Sasuke from the tough beating of his heart against his ribs. It made his blood set on fire out of anxiety from the pending goodbye.

He wanted to say something to stop this goodbye, to have a chance to touch the warmth that was promising to desert him and keep it close.

But his words were tangled in his restraining pride but the words remained secret. His fingers pulled at his loose navy sweater, spots of grease decorating the edges of it.

Anxiously, his fingers stretched the material to the point it hurt, trying to rid himself of his sweaty palms, the feeling of having to dread over something unpleasant, hoping it would be quick and slow to arrive at the same time.

"Your loss gives you every right to feel anguish. It feels like a piece of yourself is gone, a large part of your memory just gone for good... The feeling is just... horrible."

"So why are you leaving me?" Sasuke finally asked, fighting back the feeling of loneliness emerging again.

Naruto was the only one to be able to make him feel a hint of something that bordered on happiness so why was he leaving when he needed Naruto the most right now? This wasn't right, he needed his best friend with him.

Normally, during darker times, the radiant blond always had a good joke with him in high school; this time Naruto had no words, nothing to comfort him, just silent answers that rung harshly in his ears.

This time, there were no jokes or joy. They weren't children anymore.

This was goodbye.

Sasuke recalled the words to describe this moment.

Growing up. This required bidding farewell to fond memories, making them mildly bitter, but still sweet enough to reminisce.

Naruto wanted to end things on a good note so when he looked back, it wouldn't be as painful to feel old . Sasuke was obligated to respect that, but instead, he could only bring himself to use silence as his answers.

" I told you why."  
>Naruto said through the firmed silence, placing another red apple gently in Sasuke's lap.<p>

"All I can do is help you start the healing."

"Do you really think words will help me heal?" Sasuke countered, his fingers tightening on the apple, digging into the firm flesh. Perhaps he wanted Naruto to stay.

"Even if you don't believe you can, I do."

Getting to his feet, up from the chair, Naruto leaned in to stroke Sasuke's cheek with his fingertips, careful to touch him, just barely meeting his skin, sending shivers down Sasuke's skin, settling in his stomach as a pool of quiet warmth.

"This is just a change of direction for both of us. No matter what, you're never alone in anything. Just don't close yourself off from your friends, they love you a lot." Loving eyes wished a goodbye in shades of navy blue, drowning Sasuke's soul in something quiet.

There was a gentle press of lips on his right cheek, then his other. Naruto's eyes glanced at Sasuke's lips, but settled on his forehead. "Take care of yourself." He's whispered softly against his temple, surprising Sasuke with a peck on the lips before he pulled away. When the soft warmth left his lips, it felt like spending had been taken away from him again.

Numbly, Sasuke nodded, watching with growing regret when Naruto reached the door, fingers just touching the knob.

It wasn't too late, he still had a few seconds left to tell Naruto the truth, what else could he lose at this point? Itachi was gone, only leaving a vague traces that proved his existence.

Naruto left nothing behind besides emails.

"I love you." He softly mumbled, the doors had been closed already by then. He was too late. All because of his pride.

In the dim house, one room lit, sat a lonely figure, grieving again over another loss, his confession tasted like clementines. Slightly sweet, with a tart aftertaste.

Bitterly dry, leaving Sasuke thirsty for a longer sample of Naruto's lips.

But he was only human, he would survive this, but the heartache would remain inside him in some shape or form.

After a good hour, Sasuke reached for his abandoned cellphone, it's battery was reduced to 10%, enough to delete Itachi's cell number, and to call his close friends, hoping they'd be welcoming to his torn soul.

* * *

><p><strong>My heart was cold but never to you, my dear. But you'll die without knowing. I am the wind. Gone.<strong>


	9. Chapter 9: Dulled White No More

"Got your iced coffee." Suigetsu announced, placing the cool plastic cup in front of Sasuke, already familiar with the mild smile he was given.

After a few days after Naruto left, Sasuke appeared in front of work, calm as if nothing had happened, that Itachi's death was only a mild disruption.

No one asked why he was back so soon though, it was a hazard to approach an unpredictable Uchiha. The ones who were aware of why remained respectful and supportive. Just like Naruto had said.

In his usual in reserved attitudey, Sasuke dismissed Suigetsu with a nod instead of a glare, giving Suigetsu the luxury to stay or leave the office.

The sharp edge of his soul wasn't as harsh anymore it had been dulled to something softhearted, the buried disdain was absent. The storm had passed. At first, when Sasuke called Suigetsu, he had been shocked to say in the least. Never has Sasuke called anyone that wasn't related to work; it was always working, planning, and changing. This was the first time Suigetsu ever heard Sasuke speaking in earnest, reaching out for comfort to his friends for the first time. It was a welcome change to see, to finally witness the growth in Sasuke begin to take bloom.

Surprisingly, the company's stocks soared with Sasuke's newly adopted personality, and had increased by twenty three percent after a month.

Suigetsu wasn't surprised though, Sasuke treated workers with warmer words, taking the time to listen to the reasons for lack of work or overdue paper; deciding which were excusable and which were excuses for the lazy with a much more considerate attitude. Naturally the workers felt more determined to be productive in the positive atmosphere.

With the females seeing a slight change in him, they became much more forward with their advances, which were still expertly avoided, only this time, Sasuke had rejected them with tenderness, regret and obvious emotion on his face.

Many took this as Sasuke feeling remorse for hurting someone, but Suigetsu saw the underlying reason. Sasuke was regretting for never saying the words himself. Every confession reminded the brunette of his unspoken one.

Knowing this was because of Naruto, Suigetsu could only help Sasuke move on with his life.

Just like Naruto had chosen, he too had managed to move forward, although his heart had bled painfully at first, time was kind enough to allow the pain to peel away; moving on to a fierce lady he met on of heavy rain when they crashed into each other outside the bookstore.

Underneath her rough exterior, Suigetsu noticed that she was helping gather the books he'd dropped as she chastised how impudent he was for now looking where he was going. As strange as it was, he asked if she wanted to go for coffee to which she said yes.

She was strong and impulsive like her hair color, it was a contrast to Sasuke's cool demeanor and tamed aggressiveness. It was something refreshing to start with after Suigetsu had gotten over Sasuke. But he was still very upset Naruto had given up prematurely.

Sasuke had been a man of intelligence, he made decisions with his brain rather than his heart, used to sleep with others when invited; now, Sasuke seemed to have lost interest, devoting that time to his work and staring at Naruto's email for who knows how long.

It was likely things turned out so bittersweet because Sasuke had chosen to cling to his stubbornness and pride.

Chuckling to himself, Suigetsu found himself feeling anguish for Sasuke's sake.

_It's always his pride. _He concluded. The Uchiha's signature characteristic was pride after all, nothing could get in their way to their right to be proud, it seemed not even love could change that, it was a tragic curse imbedded in their blood.

Suigetsu noticed the question in Sasuke's eyes. Quietly, Suigetsu bit into his toasted bagel, taking a liking to the butter and crunchy texture, recounting the months that had passed them. It was roughly two years now wasn't it? Since Itachi had passed, and Naruto had left Sasuke's life.

After swallowing the dry bread, Suigetsu answered without being asked "Just remembered something ironic. Nothing else."

"I see." Sasuke sipped his iced caffeine, tasting the paper with the tip of his tongue, enjoying the rush of frozen liquid down his stomach, banishing any traces of fatigue for the rest of the hour.

"Hey Sasuke?" Suigetsu ventured carefully.

"Yes?"

"Ever think about settling down?" Before he could stop himself the words left his mouth by the time he realized what was said.

Without even flinching, Sasuke nodded "Occasionally."

The "Why?" Was left to be silently asked.

"Just wondering." He lied, thinking about some recent news about Naruto, though he wasn't sure if it was appropriate to bring up a risky topic. Sasuke never spoke about Naruto, and Suigetsu couldn't get any positive or negative signals whenever he tried to bring him up. All he'd get is a blank stare.

Cocking his head to the side, it allowed Suigetsu to peak over the thin laptop Sasuke typed faithfully to his desk. The glow of the electronic was low to save power, but Suigetsu could see Sasuke was emailing to some delivery company.

"So..." His voice trailed "I take it, the collab project with Uzumaki was a success?" He guessed by the number Sasuke was typing.

The pleasant tapping of fingers froze at the words. The sharp inhale of air was audible to Suigetsu. "Indeed it was."

Sasuke sat back, eyes less distracted from work, and more focused on Suigetsu.

"He invited to the celebration dinner?" He asked, taking a risk to push Sasuke over.

To his surprise the typing returned. "It's up to Minato if he comes, his wife has been sick recently, so it's completely understandable if he chooses to look after his wife instead of attending." Sasuke replied with impressive evading skill, he didn't want to have anything to do with Naruto at this point, it was too early to dive into that topic. The regret that stormed inside him had already ripped a piece of his heart out, the wound hadn't healed yet; the heartache was still so fresh, if he talked about Naruto, he'd remember what could have been, and realize that he threw away something incredible and foreign.

Sasuke's upbringing consisted of uniform rules and clothing. Lifestyle was bland, laughter was a rarity, and sex was an empty means to cure his boredom, it wasn't even worth it.

To him, the guttural moans of ecstasy he brought out from his partners sounded like nails on chalkboards to him, it wasn't pleasant, it had no meaning, and he was never satisfied. For a short period of time, Sasuke had believed that no one could ever truly interest him and fulfill the dull hollowness of his life. Until Naruto of course. During his final years of high school, he laughed and smiled more when conversing with Naruto.

Where Sasuke had become immune to all attempts from opportunists trying to charm him, something about the way Naruto's words seemed so sincere with their simplistic format and intelligent yet somewhat rough humor.

It gave Sasuke a flavor in his life. From the start everything had to be cut out and pristine.

Colour, dreams, and imagination were taboo because they were too lacking in solid ambitions, they were too 'messy' his father would say. The blond often spoke of the taboos with such affection and passion, his zealous rants were strangely welcoming to Sasuke. Now that he was gone, Sasuke's life was suddenly disoriented and lost.

That was why he had to forget about Naruto. If he didn't he would go mourn and lose himself to heartbreak, it'd eat at him.

This wasn't supposed to last any longer than this.

Already out of patience, Suigetsu sat on a spare chair with his arms crossed. "Do you have to be so pigheaded?"

"What does me being 'pigheaded' have to do with anything with Minato?"

"It has something to do with Minato's son, Naruto." Suigetsu received a well worn glare from a smoky storm when he'd mentioned Naruto.

"Don't give me that look, you've been sulking after ever since you said bye to him, which you've been doing much more frequently." Suigetsu pointed.

"I was checking for business emails. The company has expanded immensely the past few months, you know I'm weary of leaving a secretary any responsible work, hence why I fired mine."

"Yet you always take on a frustrated expression when you scan your inbox for Uzumaki's email."

Sasuke turned to Suigetsu in his chair, one leg over the other. Eyes fanned disapprovingly at Suigetsu "Don't you have work to attend to?"

"Finished." The sharp mouthed man shrugged his shoulders to loosen away the tight strings in his body. "Go have some fun. When was the last time you," his hand gestured Sasuke.  
>"Got laid?"<p>

Irritated with Suigetsu's unneeded comments, Sasuke began to glance between his friend and the door in hopes he'd get the message to leave sooner than later.

"Such a crude topic isn't appropriate to discuss here."

"I've known you forever so it doesn't apply, hell, I've seen your lily white ass before in gym." Suigetsu blew away a stray hair in his eye.

Sasuke fed up with Suigetsu's prodding, began to get up from his desk, intending to leave the room to escape the upcoming topics.

Unfortunately, Suigetsu had been around Sasuke's life long enough to know what he was up to, so he had the sense to stop Sasuke by the arm.

Meeting with dark pools on a porcelain face, Suigetsu sucked his bottom lip while thinking of something to say. "You know, you don't have to be alone all the time, maybe you don't realize it, but a lot of people genuinely care about you... So you might find someone you love amongst your friends."

Fanning his eyes as Sasuke thinned his lips, jerking his arm back. "Are you done?"

Opening his mouth, Suigetsu paused before closing again; his mouth thinned and eyes were narrowed in frustration, eventually he could only nod as he was wasting his breath.

"Then have a safe evening." Sasuke said, continuing his exit.

"Yeah, same to you." Suigetsu returned with a defeated tone, watching Sasuke leave with dismay.

* * *

><p>Running down a crowded hallway is the worst idea. First off, a person running frantically down a hallways looks ridiculous to spectators, and secondly, smashing into people was a common problem that wasn't appreciated.<p>

Nonetheless, Naruto didn't apply for any of those prior points. He was late for a meeting that was scheduled for 7:30 pm and needed to somehow make it to a pharmacy to get the medication his mother needed before it closes at 9:30 pm.

Due to weather changes, his mother Kushina often fell ill, and his father Minato would take days off to care for his wife so she wouldn't be alone, which left Naruto in charge of 75% of his father's work which wasn't a problem.

As he'd often do, Naruto couldn't help but admire from a distance of his parents relationship.

It was obvious his mother was the dominant one with her fierce nature and impulsive attitude despite her weaker body, while her soft side was reserved for Naruto and Minato only.

Minato was always calm, serious, but also gentle when it came to his wife. Both were so loving to one another, able to be honest and serious with laughter as a common factor with each other.

It was something Naruto envied very much since he longed for a close bond like that, for something so strong and intense to make everything else in his life expendable.

Sasuke was that person. But now it was clear it was one sided by the clarification.

Although he should have been grateful Sasuke had been honest and straightforward, it was still very hard for Naruto to let go of his frustrations and disappointment.

With time, he'd heal. He knew that much was true. Naruto had experienced the loss of his close friend Gaara by a plane crash, and his own godfather had been murdered by his students.

Of course this filled Naruto with overwhelming grief and anger, but not enough to make him desire for revenge, just a gaping hole of pain, sealing itself into a aching scar whenever his mind wandered to that part of his past.

Making him realize bonds are both a blessing and a curse when lost.

By sheer luck and willpower, Naruto made it to the meeting on time, stopped by the pharmacy that apparently closed at 12 at midnight, not at 9:30 pm, which made a lot more sense much to his reassurance.

Driving back to his parent's house, Naruto had expected to see his father open the door, instead, he met a pair of amber eyes that a much more intense anger than his mother's.

Recognizing the thick locks of cherry red hair and stubborn posture, Naruto jumped to embrace his cousin Karin. "Karin!"

Anticipating such actions, Karin stepped aside to allow Naruto to nearly crashing in the wall.

"You're no fun, why'd you dodge me?" He whined, rubbing the scarves skin on his hands.

Pressing up her glasses, Karin sneered "Who wouldn't dodge a thing thrown at them?" With a breath, Karin continued a a softer voice, but still strong when she had noticed Naruto hadn't replied with his usual optimistic tone.

"Anyways, Kushina wanted me to bring you along to a party I'm going, it's just a typical get together with a lot of famous big shots and their date, so get ready for tomorrow. Dress nice, cause we'll be representing your dad's company in his place."

"Does he know about this?"

She rolled her eyes "He suggested it, genius." Brushing a stray lock away from her smooth face, Karin glanced at Naruto before leaving through the front door.

At first, Naruto had been thrilled by the idea of attending a classy party filled with successful people, it would have been a great way to learn and pick advice from experienced businessmen.

In other words, it was a great opportunity for Naruto to give a good impression, but first comes first, curiosity.

"Who's hosting it?" He asked, following his cousin out.  
>Karin pushed her glasses up and blinked unfazed by the question. "Who do you think? If you've kept up with recent news, the collaborated projected the Uchiha had worked on rose to success. It was approved by the 5 supreme companies in the continent. You should know, you were part of it."<p>

Surprised, Naruto blinked stupidly "So... The Hokage, Kazekage, Mizukage, Raikage, and Tsuchikage? You're kidding right?"

"Do I look like I joke about the Uchihas?" She coldly spat, her hand pulling out her keys for her smooth scarlet car. By the soft shine, Naruto guessed it had gotten waxed. Turning his face back to Karin, h saw the disdain in her eyes. Since he could remember, Karin had been a fan of the Uchiha company since she was s teenager, apparently she dated Sasuke for a time in high school, how ironic.

"Of course not, I was just wondering." He explained with careful reasoning, relieved that Karin had noticeably calmed down.

"Good. Recently the productiveness of the Uchiha company skyrocketed, only to suddenly stumble, which is another reason why I stopped by."

Pressing her car keys through the lock slot, she offered a triumphed smile "I'll be helping Sasuke out with his schedule since I'm his new secretary. With me around there's no stopping him and I. Plus I don't mind helping Uncle Minato with his relationship with the Uchihas."

Excited and baffled for Karin'a sake Naruto grinned and dove for another hug, strangely, Karin didn't dodge, she accepted the embrace with fake disgust.

"Always knew you'd get to the top, nothing less expected of you!"

Once he pulled away, Karin slipped on her sunglasses, taking off her glasses; her fair skin complimented by the pastel pink framing. A smirk decorated her face "I haven't reached to the top yet. This is just a stepping stone, I don't settle for less you know, so just you watch. I'll see you tomorrow squirt." She dismissed, using Naruto's old nickname when he'd been a short twelve year old.

"Of course, how could I assume you'd settle for anything, don't forget about us little people." He winked before she closed the car door and drove  
>off, leaving her imprint on the world, each step bigger with her ambitions.<p>

When she was out of sight, Naruto suddenly recalled he'd agreed to attend to the party.

Nervously he retreated back inside, favoring the calm heat of the house to the cold wind picking up.

Naruto was thrilled with the idea of seeing dark pools of ice turn into warm charcoal that breathed heat with every word addressed to him. But the after feeling left much to desire, paranoid thoughts built themselves and played out like television in his head.

Last time they'd talk to one another it was clear that things were better if they'd remain away from each other.

Although Naruto agreed to it, It wasn't uncommon to find himself with his fingers ghosting over the thin, black keyboard.

It wasn't that he was anxious, he was stumped as to what to talk about. It used to be so easy to write about everything to Sasuke. Everything has shifted against what was once a guiding current. The fact that Naruto use to have a vague image of Sasuke's face, made it easier back then to open up. Being a boisterous type, Naruto was always sharing stuff, but Sasuke was a special case, Naruto would tell all his insecurities and troubles.

It was easy because Sasuke was his best friend without a face. Without any clear image, it was like Naruto's best friend lived within him.

Always able to trust him even without ever meeting him; like a shadow. It made Naruto wonder if he'd ever really thought of Sasuke as a real friend as to an imaginary friend, that maybe he'd dreamed of everything he told and felt to Sasuke, that maybe, his romantic feelings were a cheap imitation of love.

These fears however quickly died away since nothing about Naruto was cheap or fake. He was Naruto Uzumaki, the only son of Kushina and Minato and no one else and everything that made him a person was indefinitely real.

These feelings were real. Intense. So much so that after a week without contacting each other, Naruto felt sadness and emptiness cling to his heart, creating a hole as it ate away at the center of him; leaving him feeling so empty and cold.

It left Naruto unsure where to place these overflowing feelings. Should he let it spill and dry? Or maybe he should try once more. But that'd make him a hypocrite of his own words, and it seemed Sasuke was doing much better after his visit. Intruding his life wouldn't be right of him, Naruto didn't have permission to suddenly appear in Sasuke's life. It was up to Sasuke if he still wanted Naruto around, it would be Sasuke to make the first move.

Settling on to that, Naruto felt his chest warm up and his hand tremble, it was possible that Sasuke felt the same way he did, not romantically, but maybe Sasuke felt empty from Naruto's absence in his life. In some way, it was still possible to fix their relationships.

But then again, he was probably being idealistically stupid. Real life wasn't so simple and planned, the chances of Sasuke wanting to be close again was unlikely.

Now that Sasuke had recovered, it seemed he was surrounded by supportive friends now; Sasuke seemed so happy, Naruto couldn't replace that happiness; he just wanted to be part of the circle.

Kyuubi, his shiba dog happily sprinted to Naruto, jumping up on his knees to welcome home his family back after weeks of separation.

Down on a knee, Naruto calmed Kyuubi with a rub around the back of the neck and a light scratch behind his ears.

Quietly, Naruto pondered in silence, taking comfort that his dog would always be ready to welcome him with his entire spirit even in the most difficult of situations.

"Wish me luck." He told Kyuubi before picking him up and heading upstairs to greet his parents and drop off the medication safely stored in his pocket.

Kushina was lively as always, overjoyed to see her son visit her at such a late hour. Of course, she showed this by pinching his cheek and scolded him for staying up so late.

Her husband Minato, was busy making some tea and bread in the kitchen for his rambunctious family, enjoying the loud chatter of his son and wife; it reminded him how blessed he was to have such spirited wife and son, everyday was something new and exciting.

He just wished Naruto would find someone who appreciated his high spirit.

To for better than worse, Naruto took after his mother in personality, so naturally a person compatible with such energy was someone with a calm nature like Minato.

Lately, Naruto had been somewhat off key; he never was a good liar nor a good actor with the way his eyes dimmed whenever he dazed off, it was obvious with his right face and dropped body language. Hopefully whatever was bothering his son, it would quickly resolve itself. Something told Minato that this was something personal left to be settled by Naruto, because that's how reality is. Being babied wasn't an option anymore.

Naruto was grown up now, and Minato had to let his son make his own choices now. It wasn't because he abandoned his son, he believed his son could build and change the future with his own power.

This was what growing up meant.

* * *

><p>The night was filled with classical music, the soft harmonies of pianos and violins created an elegant atmosphere.<p>

Needless to say, the evening had started off with a graceful tone.

The guests were also a match to the party.  
>Many adorned sophisticated clothing worth hundreds with their chic style and dashing jewellery within passive colours.<p>

When Karin and Naruto arrived, they noticeably stood out of the other nightly guests of the evening.

Naruto was sporting a white dress shirt with a vibrant sapphire blue with a darker blue tie, the bottom half diagonally cut into a glowing orange.

The brighter hues highlighted and complimented his eyes and golden locks. Naruto's fair tresses were slightly slicked back. His skin too, was a rapturous gold tone that brightened his smile.

While Naruto was a prepossessing sight to behold, no doubt he was an attractive man with his chiseled jaw, charismatic aura, and foxish markings on his cheeks that added an air of mischievousness; his cousin Karin, however, was captivating beauty to hold.

Crimson tresses were it's natural straight style, though Naruto guessed she must have blow dried her hair, while she wore a designer Black Halo dress.

The garment itself was simplistic, timeless and feminine in all its glory. Being a clarkson strapless colorblock dress, it was a cerise hue, while a third of the dress along the bottom, was a complimenting strip of coral.

The neckline was strapless and the dress was a full skirt with a high to low hem.  
>Karin's look was completed with a pair of white stilettos and a tear shaped pink diamond necklace.<p>

Both of them were quite a sight to behold to say in the least. Being an Uzumaki, attention was a must when they dressed nicely whenever attending a party.

Spectators admired the way Karin's smooth satin dress and her eyes matched; Naruto on the other hand, was excitingly chattering amongst new acquaintances and old friends he'd seen.

Although he didn't show it, Naruto was scanning the room for a certain man he'd been anxiously thinking about. To be clear, Naruto didn't really have a thought out plan, at least not until Sasuke showed himself, wherever he was.

As time passed, people slowly began to take up more space of the room, only to eventually leave since most people attending had busy schedules traveling overseas for business.

The rest of the guests began to tire since most of the opportunities had left the building.

"Wait, everybody leaving already?" Naruto asked himself, disappointed that the crowds had begun to dim into a handful of people.

"Seems to happen to you a lot at parties." A voice answered, the husky undertones were teasing, something about it seemed nervous though, it was a soft whisper that wasn't definable to anyone Naruto knew. Turning with a need to match the voice with a face, he saw Suigetsu.

Giving a surprised smile, Naruto grinned.

"Suigetsu! Nice to see yo-"

"You're a huge letdown y'know." He interrupted with a fixed look, giving a sardonic smile.

Naruto could only give a shamefaced expression "I know, but he's better off like this."

Shrugging, Naruto took headed to the back balcony where the music failed to reach, instead the soft chants of grasshoppers peacefully played.

"He's probably outgrown the pattern." He reasoned.

"What are you, twelve? Sex was something that cured his boredom, everyone likes sex for fuck's sake. You don't just suddenly decide you don't like sex, especially if your Sasuke Uchiha when everyone wants to have sex with you."  
>Sighing, Naruto felt the frustration build between his eyes. "Then what do you expect me to do? Isn't he better this way? Moving on to find someone else?"<p>

"Sure, he'll find someone new, but you were a huge part of his life, isn't it selfish to take that away?"

"I'm not being selfish." Naruto defended, almost too quickly.

Cocking his head to Naruto, Suigetsu nearly shook his head at the blatant fib "Sure." He really did try his best to withhold the sarcasm. Not really.

Before he could continue, Suigetsu noticed the shadow behind him; turning, head to the obstruction, it took his eyes a while to adjust to the bright lighting.

Focusing carefully, dark bangs cleared in his vision, than a familiar chiseled frame that complimented slender dark eyes glanced down at Suigetsu, expecting him to leave the balcony area as he was now within eyesight of Naruto.

Reluctantly, Suigetsu nodded, his clear lavender eyes held on to Sasuke's gaze a few moments longer before he finally left after opia flashed before him in the glint of the dark hue in Sasuke's unblinking eyes.

The look of purpose gave Suigetsu an odd sense of relief, the look of resolve was a fresh sight to behold, something told Suigetsu a change was shifting again.

It had seemed Sasuke finally listened to his advice, or maybe he'd grown tired of being alone.

_When a door closes, a window opens. _Suigetsu mused with bittersweet contentment before he went off to escort Karin back, expecting an earful from her for taking so long. But as they say, love is blind.

This chapter was closed in his life, and he didn't have time to take another look.

* * *

><p><em>Easy breaths. <em>Naruto told himself as he was alone with Sasuke, this being the first interaction in many weeks, so he wasn't so sure what was the right action for a situation such as this. Logically he should have walked away, but he didn't want to do that.

Originally he started with a plan of simply 'winging' this, but that's was because Naruto hadn't been nervous at the time. Now, Sasuke had taken the first step to him, and Naruto found his mind blanking out on him.

The soft blow of the wind on his cheek was real, and the pounding against his ribs was genuinely happening. The blood rushing through his veins from the excitement–or tension.

Hundreds of different words and sentences tripped over themselves to start different conversations—if there was going to be any form of communication at all.

"You appear to be taken aback. Surprised?"

Taking a moment to let the situation set, Naruto cleared his throat nervously "Well, yeah..." His hand journeyed to rub the back of his neck Ina sheepish manner. "I thought you were satisfied with the ways things were; to be honest, I'm a little more than confused right now."

Understanding this, Sasuke stepped forward to rest his elbows on the black railing, taking in the sight of the soft moon and glow flies.

"As am I."

Joining Sasuke to stare out at the moon, Naruto was a bit confused with this new approach. "If my company isn't in your interest, why are you here?"

Unblinkingly, Sasuke stared calmly from the moon to Naruto.

"I'm fond of you." Sasuke gave as some sort of reasoning for this controversial situation, his voice toneless as ever, but it seemed to Naruto, modulated undertones were found in Sasuke's words.

Turning his head downward, Naruto's voice was quiet, his expression vividly confused "Doesn't explain why you're here with me right now."

"On the contrary, it does." Sasuke corrected, his finger gripping the edge tighter before they became loose.

After a moment of pursing his lips together, Naruto rubbed his hands on the smooth surface of the railing "You're being evasive, can't you be clear with me?" He exasperated, eyes fanning in frustration.

With a small smile, Sasuke shook his head in bittersweet amusement "Suppose not." He said softly, almost like it was to himself and not for Naruto's ears.

"Why are you here?" Naruto ventured to ask again, his voice was much more forward. He wanted answers. "Do you want to be friends? Business partners?" He paused for a moment before he stared down at the glowing fountain "Lovers?"his tone was tight and quiet; it was clear to Sasuke, that Naruto was desperate for something he could understand.

Feeling mild guilt for finding Naruto's conflict and struggle, Sasuke finally have one clear answer that offered relief to Naruto's distress.

"If you want to. Then yes." He finally said, the air around him slowed, it made Sasuke almost wonder if this was worth throwing away his carefully fortified pride.

But the moment he caught sight of those bright eyes, and the shy, dimpled smile, Sasuke felt his doubts melt way.

"I know, I can be hard to understand sometime." He began, unsure of where he was going with his words, but it was something.

"Go on." Naruto encouraged, patience was clear on his face with the absence of lines, he looked almost at peace, if it weren't for those passionate blue eyes that spoke for themselves.

"But in reality, I don't want that. My brother knew that part of me, so did you. When I lost the secrecy and security of our distant friendship and my brother, I felt like the largest parts of my life has been destroyed." Taking a breath, Sasuke stared at empty driveway of his mansion, fireflies began to cluster, comforting him with their soft pulses of light, like a heart.

"Change is something I dislike, I thought that out friendship was going when I'd met you in real life. Growing up has made me think like this, I know you would never use me, but every single person outside of my family has tried. When I saw you as 'Naruto' my best friend had disappeared."

Gazing softly at Sasuke's efforts to explain himself honestly, Naruto placed his hand over Sasuke's.

Sasuke jerked his head to Naruto. Lost dark eyes met assuring navy ones. "I'm still here. This is proof." His hand squeezed gently "I'm not going anywhere. Promise."

Hesitantly, Sasuke continued his explanation, "For a moment, I thought you were a stranger named 'Naruto', because everyone acts differently once they realize who I am, but you never did. Deep down, I knew I could trust you, but I couldn't bring myself to believe such things." Sasuke's voice began to quiver.

"My friendships with others never last until they either leave my side or until they show their real intentions." Almost coldly, Sasuke jerked his hand away from Naruto as if he'd been burned before he looked straight at Naruto with reserved eyes.

"Tell me, what are your intentions? I know they're good, but tell me why? I'm not a saint, nor do I ever feel obligated to be kind. Why did you keep chasing me?" His heart was pounding out of anticipation.

Without hesitation and doubt, Naruto didn't flinch "You're the most important person to me. In many ways, we were both alone growing up, so we bonded over that. Then I realized how much a fun person you were, and that you're a lot more nicer than you give yourself credit for. Just because you're hard to deal with at times doesn't make you someone undeserving of friends, I know that better than anyone." The taller man took a step forward, Sasuke allowed him, feeling the tension fade by the stronger presence of Naruto's glow, who he as rare for Sasuke to feel relaxed with such a close proximity with someone. "Sasuke, I... Just wanted you happy, so when you seemed so conflicted and somewhat angry after Itachi, I didn't want to be part of the reason for your turmoil. If you were happier without me, I'd accept that, but not without knowing you are the most important person to me. I promised myself to help become happy after all."

The tips of golden finger touched Sasuke's jaw, brushing a lock of hair behind his ears, the warmth of the contact was pleasant to the brunette.

The lighter specks of turquoise in Naruto's eyes glinted like flowing water. "You remember my motto right? The one I kept repeating everyday in our emails just to annoy–"

"–Me." Sasuke finished with a breathy sigh before he couldn't resist to reunite his hand with Naruto's, just to feel the warm sparks again. "You used to say 'I never go back on my word, believe me!', always repeating it like some kind of superhero, calling yourself the ninja of the leaves. Like a fucking idiot." Sasuke nearly chuckled, not much has changed about that part of Naruto. The fierce honesty and stubbornness was something that Sasuke needed in his life; just by meeting Naruto again, Sasuke felt elation was within reach.

"But we can't be like that again. That part of our lives is gone. That part of our life was never meant to last." Sasuke mumbled with resentment, lacing his fingers with Naruto instead of rejecting him.

"I know." Naruto agreed before his fingers had a safe hold on Sasuke, resting his forehead against Sasuke's.

"But we will. Always." Slowly, Naruto leaned in for a kiss, allowing Sasuke the control to stop him or let him. So Sasuke grabbed Naruto's front shirt with his other hand to smash their lips together in a greedy fight for dominance. No longer could Sasuke deny himself of this ambrosia, no more waiting.

Sasuke had the advantage of surprise, and experience. At first his hand wandered up Naruto'a taut chest, enjoying the flex of muscles and heat.

Slowly, their tongues slides against each other, Naruto was hesitant and insure, but Sasuke was dominant and wild for a deeper taste.

It was pleasing for Sasuke to see the blonde didn't fight for the lead, but it did annoy Sasuke with the way Naruto flicked his tongue against his with smooth confidence. The idea that others had touched these lips infuriated him. Naruto was his now. Finally. No else could have the right to kiss or touch him, the gentle hand rubbing Sasuke's neck encouraged his tongue to thoroughly roll against him.

Gripping the back of Naruto's golden locks, Sasuke yanked roughly to tilt Naruto's lips apart. Soft groans escaped his throat, Sasuke was breathing heavily from the passion he had unleashed.

"Shit, Sasuke... You're like a hungry wolf."

Agreeing with him, Sasuke nipped the edge of his ear before giving it a soft lick to blow on it, which sent strings of pleasure in his bones to his groin.

Going in for another kiss, Naruto gave a chaste kiss on Sasuke's swollen ones "I love you." He repeated, only it pierced right through Sasuke' vulnerable heart, filling the emptiness that loneliness had eaten away.

"I know, I do too." Sasuke finally admitted, overcoming the stubborn fear and pride, his breath was heavy.

Naruto chuckled heartily "You're such an ass for leaving me hanging. I'm so glad."

Their fingers, never losing contact, had clenched together at the same time.

The burdens and regrets that trapped them both weren't gone, instead, they were mere stepping stones into growing up now that they had each other to face their troubles.

The future was uncertain, nothing was clear with their weakness and the enemies they'd meet. But their lives were tangled so close, they'd be rooted right beside each other no matter that hardships.

From this point on, life wasn't a dulled shade of white like it was at adolescence. Being born, children are protected in white, kept innocent and very much alone.

But now Sasuke and Naruto were finally taking their steps away from their childhood and cruel memories, stronger together with their friends and each other.

Even though they grew up on lies and discovered their own rules to live, perhaps finding the desire to live happily with friends and lovers was the purpose of living.

Although humans are afraid of many things, it doesn't change the fact that they all want to be happy, and the battle for change and happiness is a rough one. With beautiful colors and happiness to the dreary and gloomy times.

But maybe that is what it means to be grown up.

Accepting out faults and the world's because we can only give so much that our hearts can afford.

But as long as we have each other, are able to love, forgive and laugh, happiness is nearby.

Right now, Sasuke and Naruto found the love and happiness they'd been searching for.

Nothing would change that even if they were new to the new reality for the adults, where safe zones do not exist.

But even so, they were ready for the world now. From this point, whatever happens, they'd be alright.

Life wasn't boring anymore.

* * *

><p>AN: I finished writing this around 3 am, been playing video games for inspiration, and I just happen to have a terrible cold. To be honest, I am so very happy that this final chapter got uploaded, It just kept getting longer and longer to the point that I ended up erasing more than half of it to rewrite it. It still went over my word limit. But I am quite satisfied the way this story had ended. Thank you very much for reading my chapter, and I hope with all the Naruto fandom drama happening, it wont ruin your love for the characters. I hope you've enjoyed this chapter as I have had quite a lot of fun writing this.


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